CLINICOPATHOLOGICAL CORRELATION OF UPPER GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT ENDOSCOPIC BIOPSIES IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL IN RURAL AREA OF NORTH INDIA

Background: Upper GI endoscopy is a widely used investigation for a variety of upper GI symptoms like dysphagia, dyspepsia, abdominal pain, etc. and when combined with biopsy, its diagnostic accuracy get increased manifold. So the objective of the present study is to diagnose the lesions of upper GIT by studying endoscopic biopsies in relation to age and sex distribution, correlating them with endoscopic diagnoses. Method: The study included 200 endoscopic biopsies of upper gastrointestinal tract of patients. Result: There were 26 esophageal, 130 gastric, 44 duodenal biopsies. Non-neoplastic lesions were found to be common (83.0%) out of which gastritis was the most common lesion. Most patients presented in the age group of 31-40 years. Majority of the lesions of upper GIT were non-neoplastic. Percentage of concordance between endoscopic & histologic diagnoses was calculated. In esophageal biopsies, non-neoplastic lesions showed 83.3% while neoplastic lesions showed 95.0% concordance. In gastric biopsies, cases of gastritis, ulcer, polyps and carcinoma showed 100%, 96.3%, 71.4% and 100% concordance respectively. In duodenal biopsies, duodenitis, scalloping, polypoidal and carcinomatous lesions showed 100%, 60.7%, 0% and 100% concordance between the two diagnostic modalities respectively. Conclusion: The conclusion of the study was that endoscopic examination alone might miss out in diagnosing majority of the lesions. So, histological examination in adjunct with endoscopy should be considered as much more valuable diagnostic tool rather than endoscopy alone.