Diagnostic yield of repeat upper gastrointestinal endoscopy for patients with functional dyspepsia

OBJECTIVE: To study the diagnostic yield of repeat upper gastrointestinal endoscopy for patients with functional dyspepsia (FD). METHODS: A retrospective review of the database including consecutive patients who underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy at least twice for dyspeptic symptoms at a tertiary endoscopy center from 1996 to 2011 was performed. The patients' age, gender, symptoms and endoscopic and pathological findings were collected and analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 2 350 patients with FD with a median age of 50 years, including 1020 men and 1330 women, were enrolled. Abdominal pain or discomfort was the main indication for the first endoscopy, and 12.6% of the patients presented with alarm features. At the second endoscopy, non-atrophic and atrophic gastritis were the most common endoscopic findings and only 12 and 10 patients were found to have peptic ulcers or gastric polyps, respectively. No malignancy was detected at either the first or the repeat endoscopy. CONCLUSIONS: Significant pathologies within one year after a normal esophagogastroduodenoscopy are very rare for patients with FD. Therefore, a repeat endoscopy within one year after the first endoscopy is not recommended for these patients.