As the number of elderly and high risk patients subjected to the procedure increases, the number of cardiopulmonary complications rises in parallel.3 Sedation techniques are probably responsible for some of the medical complications seen, but operator inexperience, and lack of monitoring may also be important. This audit has been designed to investigate how often problems occur at the time of upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and for a 30 day period after the procedure, and to explore common variables in endoscopy practice when such complications occur. The audit has included all flexible diagnostic and therapeutic fibreoptic upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and has excluded rigid oesophagoscopy and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography. It is hoped that the findings of this study will encourage endoscopists to examine their own practices and thus reduce complication rates associated with endoscopy.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract