Having a Gastroscopy

Having a Gastroscopy

Patient Information

Endoscopy Department

Introduction

Please read through this leaflet carefully as soon as possible. Do not leave it to just before your appointment as this may cause problems preparing for your test.

This leaflet has been written to provide information, explain the benefits and risks of the procedure and to allay any fears you may have.  If you have any further queries, your doctor and the endoscopy staff will do their best to answer them for you.

Essential Checklist Prior To Test:

• Ensure you have Fasted for at least 6 Hours (for more information see page 4)
• You must keep taking any essential prescribed tablets unless advised otherwise, including on the day of the test, please take medication as early as possible.
• Provide a list of all your current medication.
• If Sedation is required, it is essential you are accompanied, and someone can care for you for 24hrs post procedure. (For more information see page 4)
• Diabetes:    Tablet controlled: do not take your medication when fasting.

                             Insulin controlled: please contact your Diabetic team for advice.

Please contact us if you:

• have suffered a heart attack, stroke or TIA within the last 3 months
• are on kidney dialysis

Are taking medication to thin your blood and have not previously been given instructions (listed below)

• Warfarin or acenocoumoral (Sinthrome®)
• Clopidogrel (Plavix®) or dipyridamole (Persantin® or Asasantin®)
• Ticagrelor (Briliique®) or prasugrel (Efient®)
• (Dabigatran or Pradaxa®, Apixaban or Eliquis®, Rivaroxaban or Xarelto®, Edoxaban or Lixiana®)

Endoscopy Unit at Royal Albert Edward Infirmary 01942 822450

Endoscopy Unit at Leigh Infirmary 01942 264236 or 01942 264974

Having a Gastroscopy

Your doctor has advised that you have a gastroscopy.  This procedure is otherwise known as an oesophago-gastro-duodenoscopy or OGD for short.

What is a Gastroscopy?

This is an examination of your oesophagus (gullet or food pipe), stomach and the first part of your small bowel called the duodenum.

The instrument used for this investigation is called a gastroscope. It is a flexible tube with a diameter less than that of your little finger. The gastroscope lights up the lining of your upper digestive tract and has a sensor on the end to capture video images which are relayed back to a television screen.

During the investigation, the endoscopist may need to take some tissue samples known as biopsies from the lining of your upper digestive tract for further analysis. This is completely painless. The samples may be retained for further tests. Photographs may be taken for your medical records. 

Why do I need to have a gastroscopy?

You have been advised to undergo this investigation to find the cause of your symptoms, help with treatment and if necessary, to decide on further investigation.  There are many reasons for this investigation including: indigestion, anaemia, weight loss, vomiting, passing black motions, vomiting blood or difficulty swallowing.

What anaesthetic or sedation will I be given?

It is important that you are at ease during the procedure to ensure that the endoscopist can perform the procedure successfully.  You can choose to have intravenous sedation, a local anaesthetic throat spray or a combination of the two.

Local anaesthetic throat spray

A local anaesthetic drug (lignocaine) is sprayed into the back of the throat to make it numb.  It can taste very bitter but works rapidly.  It has a similar effect to a dental injection and allows the camera to pass through your throat without you feeling it.

The benefit of choosing throat spray is that you are fully conscious during the gastroscopy. You can go home unaccompanied almost immediately after the procedure and you are permitted to drive.

The only constraint is that you must not have anything to eat or drink until the sensation in your mouth and throat has returned to normal. This is usually takes up to 1 hour.

Sedation

Sedative drugs can be administered into a vein in your arm which will make you drowsy and relaxed for the gastroscopy.

These drugs will NOT make you unconscious like a general anaesthetic. You will be in a state called conscious sedation, which means that, although drowsy, you will still be able to hear what is said to you and will be able to follow simple instructions during the investigation. Sedation may also prevent you from remembering anything about the procedure afterwards. 

You will be connected to a pulse oximeter by a finger probe, which measures your oxygen levels and heart rate during the procedure. Your blood pressure may also be recorded. 

If you choose to have sedation, you must arrange for a friend or relative to collect you from the Endoscopy Unit and we recommend that they stay with you afterwards.  You must not drive, ride a bike, operate machinery, climb ladders, or sign important documents for 24 hours following sedation.  If you are not able to make these arrangements, we will not be able to give you sedation.

Getting ready for the procedure

Do not have anything to eat for at least six hours before the procedure. This is to ensure that your stomach is empty, and the doctor has a clear view.   You can drink small amounts of water until two hours before your appointment time.

Please take essential medication for example blood pressure medication, and pain relief, except for those drugs that are listed at the beginning of this leaflet.

If you are taking Mounjaro for weight loss, please stop this one week before your procedure, as this medication delays gastric emptying. If taking for diabetes, please discuss, with your diabetic nurse specialist.

What will happen when I arrive?

When you arrive for your gastroscopy, you will be greeted by our reception staff and asked to sit in the waiting room. Your named nurse will ask you to come through to the preparation area shortly before your procedure.  We will need to check your identity and go through any medical conditions, medication and allergies to ensure it is safe to proceed. It would be very helpful if you could bring a list of all your medication with you.  We will also ensure arrangements have been made for your journey home.  Your blood pressure and pulse will be checked prior to the procedure.

You will be asked to remove any tight clothing, ties, dentures and spectacles.  Please do not bring large amounts of money or valuables with you.

You will meet the nursing staff/your endoscopist before you go through to the endoscopy room.  He/she will go through your consent form and answer any questions you may have.

If you have decided to receive sedation, a plastic tube, known as a cannula will be inserted into a vein in your hand or arm to allow the drugs to be injected.

What happens in the procedure room?

You will be escorted into the procedure room where the other nurses helping the endoscopist will introduce themselves to you.  You will have the opportunity to ask any final questions.

If you have any dentures, you will be asked to remove them at this point.  Any remaining teeth will be protected by a small plastic mouth guard which will be inserted immediately before the examination commences.

 
If you are having local anaesthetic throat spray, this will be sprayed on to the back of your throat.  The nurse looking after you will then ask you to lie on your left side and will place the oxygen monitoring probe on your finger. A drape will be placed over your clothes to protect them from saliva and other secretions.  If you have decided to have sedation, the drug will be administered into a cannula in your vein, and you will quickly become sleepy.

What happens during the procedure?

The endoscopist will introduce the gastroscope into your mouth and ask you to take a big swallow when it is at the back of your throat.  He or she will then advance the gastroscope carefully down your oesophagus, into your stomach and then into your duodenum.

Your windpipe is deliberately avoided, and your breathing will be unhindered.  Any saliva or other secretions produced during the investigation will be removed using a small suction tube, again rather like the one used at the dentist.

Biopsies and photographs may be taken during the procedure.  The procedure usually takes 5 to 10 minutes but may take longer if extra procedures are required.

What happens after the procedure?

You will be escorted to the recovery area and allowed to rest for as long as is necessary.

If you have throat spray as soon as you feel well, we will be able to discharge you home 

The next page needs moving up to follow on from the above.If you have received sedation, your oxygen levels, blood pressure and heart rate will be recorded.  It usually takes about 30 minutes for the initial effects of sedation to wear off, but some people may feel fully alert immediately after the procedure.  However, the drugs remain in your blood system for about 24 hours, and you can intermittently feel drowsy with lapses of memory.  You will need someone to escort you home and supervise you for this 24 hour period.

Will I be told the results straight away?

Before you leave the department, the nurse or doctor will explain the findings on your gastroscopy and any medication or further investigations required.  He or she will also inform you if you require further appointments.  If biopsies were taken, they will need to be sent to the pathology lab for further analysis.  It may take 6 – 8 weeks for these results to be available.

Sedation can make you forgetful and you may decide that you would like to have a family member or friend with you when you are given this information.

What are the risks and side effects to this procedure?

As with most medical procedures, there are some risks involved.  Your doctor will have felt that the benefits of this procedure outweigh the potential risks before he/she suggested that you should have it carried out.

You may experience bloating and abdominal discomfort for a few hours after the procedure because air is used to inflate the stomach.  This can often be relieved by belching.  You may have a sore throat for 24-48 hours.  You must tell the nurse if you have any loose teeth, caps, or crowns as there is a risk that they can become dislodged during the procedure.

If you choose to have sedative drugs, these can cause your breathing to slow down or result in a fall in your blood pressure.   This is the reason we do not give high doses of the drugs for the procedure.  We monitor your breathing and oxygen levels carefully throughout and this rarely becomes a problem.  In any case, an antidote to the sedative drugs that we use is always available and this can reverse its effects immediately.

There is a risk of causing bleeding, but this is rare.  Very occasionally, this may necessitate blood transfusion or further procedures to stop the bleeding.

There is a risk of causing a tear (otherwise known as a perforation) in the gullet or stomach with the camera.  This risk is very small and can occur in 1 in 2000 cases.

If you are worried about any of these risks, please speak to your doctor or a member of the team before your test.

Are there any alternatives to this procedure?

A test known as barium swallow and meal is an alternative to gastroscopy.  This is an x-ray examination of the upper digestive tract and can provide similar information to a gastroscopy.  However, there are some disadvantages:

• Direct views of the lining of your digestive tract with a gastroscope can provide more information
• Biopsy samples cannot be taken
• The test involves x-ray radiation

If you have questions regarding this alternative test, please ask your doctor.

Cancellations

If you are unable to keep this appointment, please let us know as soon as possible on the phone number 0300 555 4567, option 4. This will allow us to give your appointment to another patient and rearrange another one for you.