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World J Gastroenterol. Jan 21, 2015; 21(3): 759-785
Published online Jan 21, 2015. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i3.759
Technical skills and training of upper gastrointestinal endoscopy for new beginners
Seung-Hwa Lee, Young-Kyu Park, Sung-Min Cho, Joon-Koo Kang, Duck-Joo Lee
Seung-Hwa Lee, Duck-Joo Lee, Health Promotion Center, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon 443-380, South Korea
Young-Kyu Park, Sung-Min Cho, Health Promotion Center, Bundang Jaesang Hospital, Kwandong University School of Medicine, Seongnam 463-774, South Korea
Joon-Koo Kang, Department of Gastroenterology, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon 443-380, South Korea
Author contributions: Lee SH, Park YK and Cho SM contributed equally to this paper; Lee SH, Park YK and Cho SM contributed in the study concept and design, acquisition of data, and drafting of the manuscript; Lee SH and Kang JK were involved in the acquisition, ascertainment of data and revision of manuscript; Lee DJ contributed to a critical revision of the manuscript regarding its intellectual content, and supervised the study overall; all the authors read and approved the final draft of this manuscript.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Duck-Joo Lee, President and Professor, Health Promotion Center, Ajou University School of Medicine, Gyeonggi-do, Suwon 443-380, South Korea. fmdr@medimail.co.kr
Telephone: +82-10-87710911 Fax: +82-31-2195561
Received: August 5, 2014
Peer-review started: August 6, 2014
First decision: September 15, 2014
Revised: October 17, 2014
Accepted: December 1, 2014
Article in press: December 1, 2014
Published online: January 21, 2015
Processing time: 168 Days and 0.1 Hours
Abstract

The incidence of gastric cancer remains high in South Korea. Upper gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy, i.e., esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD), has a higher diagnostic specificity and sensitivity than the upper GI series. Additionally, EGD has the ability to biopsy, through taking a tissue of the pathologic lesion. Successful training of EGD procedural skills require a few important things to be learned and remembered, including the posture of an examinee (e.g., left lateral decubitus and supine) and examiner (e.g., one-man standing method vs one-man sitting method), basic skills (e.g., tip deflection, push forward and pull back, and air suction and infusion), advanced skills (e.g., paradoxical movement, J-turn, and U-turn), and intubation techniques along the upper GI tract (e.g., oral cavity, pharynx, larynx including vocal cord, upper and middle and lower esophagus, gastroesophageal junction, gastric fundus, body, and antrum, duodenal bulb, and descending part of duodenum). In the current review, despite several limitations, we explained the intubation method of EGD for beginners. We hope this will be helpful to beginners who wish to learn the procedure.

Keywords: Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy; Esophagogastroduodenoscopy; Beginner; Procedure; Technical skill

Core tip: The demand for esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) has been increasing annually, especially in Asian countries. However, it is challenging to learn the procedure, due to its long learning curve. Therefore, care must be taken in teaching, learning, and practicing the procedure. We believe that if beginners learn how to perform EGD properly through an adequate training program and then perform the procedure effectively on patients, the safety and satisfaction of patients undergoing EGD will be improving.