Perspectives on endoscopic surveillance of dysplasia in inflammatory bowel disease: a survey of academic gastroenterologists

Abstract

Background and study aims Dye-based chromoendoscopy (DBC) is the preferred method for endoscopic dysplasia surveillance in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We sought to examine the uptake of, and perception toward DBC among academic gastroenterologists.Methods We conducted an online survey of academic members of the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology to assess their current dysplasia surveillance practice, uptake of DBC, and perceived barriers to adoption of DBC.Results Of the 150 physicians contacted, 49 (32.7 %) responded to the survey. The majority of respondents reported subspecialty training in IBD (71.4 %), and the median number of years in practice was 12. White-light endoscopy with random colonic biopsies was the preferred dysplasia screening method (73.5 %). Only 26.5 % of respondents routinely used DBC, despite institutional availability of over 60 %. The major barriers to adoption of DBC were concerns about procedure duration (46.9 %), concerns about cost (44.9 %), and inadequate training (40.8 %).Conclusion There is low uptake of DBC for dysplasia surveillance in IBD patients among academic gastroenterologists practicing in Canada. Additional studies should be completed to determine how to improve the uptake of DBC.