Miniprobe sonography in the evaluation of 169 patients with gastrointestinal disease

OBJECTIVE: It is still difficult to precisely differentiate elevated lesions of the gastrointestinal mucosa or estimate the depth of malignant lesions by using conventional endoscopy and biopsy. The aim of the present study was to assess the clinical value of miniprobe sonography (MPS). METHODS: A total of 169 patients (including 83 patients who underwent endoscopic treatment or surgery) with gastrointestinal disease were examined by using MPS in conjunction with endoscopic examination. The diagnosis according to MPS was compared with macroscopic findings, endoscopic biopsy and surgical results. RESULTS: In the case of elevated lesions of the gastrointestinal mucosa with negative biopsies, compared with surgical findings, the diagnostic accuracy of MPS was 98.3% (115/117). In the case of malignant lesions, MPS findings with regard to the lesion depth were 100% in agreement with those from surgical biopsy (31/31). CONCLUSION: The MPS technique is significantly superior to conventional endoscopy with pathological biopsy in the differentiation of elevated lesions of the gastrointestinal mucosa and thus has important clinical value. But in the case of malignant lesions, only the depth of infiltration into the gastrointestinal wall can be correctly assessed by MPS, so its value is limited in the identification of lymph nodes and distal metastases.