dyspepsia: patient web educ dec EGDs
A patient-centered educational intervention decreased the unnecessary use of upper GI endoscopy (see dyspepsia web educ dec egd jamaintmed2021 in dropbox or doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2021.1408 ) Details: -- open-label RCT, multicenter study at 4 teaching hospitals in the Netherlands from 2017-2019, sponsored by the Dutch Ministry of Health -- 119 patients aged 18 to 69 with uninvestigated dyspeptic symptoms -- median age 48, 40% men, BMI 25, 50% alcohol users, 15% smokers, 80% employed/8% disabled, -- medications: 70% PPI/3% H2-blockers/12% antidepressants/6% NSAIDs sporadically -- those on antacid therapy were on them for a mean of 80 weeks -- 23% had prior upper GI endoscopy/18% abdominal ultrasound -- excluded patients: those with red flag symptoms, including signs of upper GI hemorrhage (hematemesis, melena, hematochezia, anemia), unintentional weight loss of 5% or higher during a period of 6 to 12 months, or persistent vomiti...