Prospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Feb 21, 2015; 21(7): 2178-2182
Published online Feb 21, 2015. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i7.2178
Measurement system that improves the accuracy of polyp size determined at colonoscopy
Qiang Leng, Hei-Ying Jin
Qiang Leng, Hei-Ying Jin, National Center of Colorectal Surgery, Jiangsu Integrated Colorectal Oncology Center, the Third Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing, University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jiangsu Province, Nanjing 210001, China
Author contributions: Leng Q and Jin HY collected and analyzed the data; Leng Q drafted the manuscript; and Jin HY designed the study and revised the manuscript.
Supported by National Nature Science Foundation of China, No. 30973837, No. 81273944; and the Nanjing Medical Technology Development Project, No. NJYX201203.
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: Hei-Ying Jin, MD, National Center of Colorectal Surgery, Jiangsu Integrated Colorectal Oncology Center, the Third Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing, University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1 Jinling Road, Jiangsu Province, Nanjing 210001, China. jinheiying@hotmail.com
Telephone: +86-25-52276200 Fax: +86-25-52276200
Received: June 29, 2014
Peer-review started: June 30, 2014
First decision: July 21, 2014
Revised: August 5, 2014
Accepted: September 18, 2014
Article in press: September 19, 2014
Published online: February 21, 2015
Abstract

AIM: To assess the accuracy of polyp size using an endoscopic lesion measurement system (ELMS).

METHODS: The accuracy of polyp size assessment was compared among measurements acquired by visual estimation, disposable graduated biopsy forceps (DGBF; used as a “scale-plate”) and the ELMS.

RESULTS: There were 192 polyps from 166 cases included in this study. The mean diameter of the post polypectomy measurement was 0.85 ± 0.53 cm (range: 0.2-3.0 cm). The mean diameter by visual estimation was 1.10 ± 0.53 cm, which was significantly different compared to the actual size of the polyp (P < 0.001). The mean diameters obtained using DGBF (0.87 ± 0.54 cm) and ELMS (0.85 ± 0.53 cm) did not significantly differ from the actual size of the polyp. The difference between the measurements from the ELMS and DGBF was not significant.

CONCLUSION: Unlike visual estimations at colonoscopy, endoscopic graduated biopsy forceps and the endoscopic lesion measurement system are accurate methods to estimate polyp size.

Keywords: Accuracy, Colonoscopy, Endoscopic lesion measurement system, Polyp size measurement

Core tip: In this study, we established an endoscopic lesion measurement system (ELMS) to measure polyp size during endoscopy. We measured 192 polyps from 162 patients and found that the accuracy of visual estimation for colonic polyp size is low. The accuracy of estimating polyp size was distinctly increased when measured by disposable graduated biopsy forceps and ELMS. In particular, the accuracy of estimation by ELMS was higher than the clinician’s estimation and DGBF for polyps > 1 cm.