Gastroscopy findings . . . and other stories

Abstract

Analysis of the results of nearly 400 000 gastroscopies carried out in the UK for common gastrointestinal symptoms shows that only one in 10 reveals anything other than normal findings or minor pathology. The chances of finding cancer were greatest in older male patients, those over 50 with dysphagia, and those with weight loss in addition to symptoms, but the overall likelihood of diagnosis of malignancy was 1%. Among patients under 50, less than 1% were diagnosed with cancer, regardless of symptoms ( Gut doi:10.1136/gutjnl-2024-332071). Food allergy is becoming commoner, according to an analysis of 8 million individual records in an English primary care database. Between …