Barrett’s esophagus (BE) is the only identifiable premalignant condition for esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), an aggressive malignancy for which the median overall survival at 5 years only reaches 19%.

Barrett’s esophagus (BE), intestinal metaplasia with goblet cells, affects 0.5% to 2.0% of the general population.

When evaluating patients with possible dysphagic conditions, such as achalasia or esophagitis, gastroenterologists typically have selected bolus movement assessment or high-resolution manometry (HRM) to assess esophageal function.

Patients presenting with esophageal complaints, such as heartburn, regurgitation, dysphagia, chest pain, and food impaction invariably will require an endoscopy to help diagnosis and management.

Due to the common nature of the condition, symptomatic low-grade (I and II) hemorrhoids are a patient complaint frequently encountered in GI practices—one with which most gastroenterology fellows will become familiar from the start of the fellowship.

A 56-year-old man gradually developed shortness of breath and was not able to tolerate regular physical activity. He went to his primary care physician and blood tests revealed severe anemia. Upper endoscopy and colonoscopy did not reveal the source of bleeding, and the patient was referred to Mercy Medical Center for double balloon enteroscopy (DBE) to evaluate the small bowel as a possible site of the GI bleeding.

Functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) are common, and diagnosed by specific symptom complexes. FGIDs are defined by Rome IV criteria in the absence of anatomic or organic causes.

Patients suffering from symptoms suggestive of gastroparesis and chronic constipation frequently present with vague, nonspecific, and overlapping symptoms, often making it a challenge to provide a unifying diagnosis.

For confirming the diagnosis of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in patients suffering from upper gastrointestinal symptoms, objective testing is always recommended prior to surgical intervention.1 However, in selected patients, such testing is increasingly being employed to assess the efficacy of treatment with a proton pump inhibitor (PPI).

Symptomatic gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is estimated to affect 18% to 28% of the US population. An empirical trial of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) is a common starting point. Endoscopy is performed when alarm symptoms (eg, dysphagia, anemia, weight loss) are present, or if symptoms do not improve with PPIs.