COMPARISON OF RIGID AND FLEXIBLE ESOPHAGOSCOPY IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF ESOPHAGEAL DISEASE - DIAGNOSTIC-ACCURACY, COMPLICATIONS, AND COST

Rigid esophagoscopy has been used by otolaryngologists for evaluation of the esophagus for over 100 years. Few studies have examined the dia gnostic accuracy of rigid esophagoscopy in patients with carcinoma of the head and neck The god of our study was to compare the diagnostic a ccuracy, complication rate, and costs of rigid esophagoscopy and flexi ble fiber-optic endoscopy in the evaluation of the esophagus inpatient s with head and neck carcinoma. We retrospectively reviewed the record s of 195 patients with head and neck carcinoma who underwent both rigi d esophagoscopy and flexible fiber-optic endoscopy within a 6-month pe riod. We discovered 10 cases with discordant findings, of which 5 (50% ) were esophageal carcinoma. The estimated cost was less for flexible endoscopy. No complications were reported in either procedure. Our stu dy suggests that flexible fiber-optic endoscopy should replace rigid e sophagoscopy in the evaluation of the esophagus in patients with head and neck carcinoma.