Author Archives: Gastroenterology Journal
Improving Influenza Vaccination in Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Quality Improvement Initiative
Vaccination rates remain low among patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) despite guideline recommendations and evidence-based publications. Reported barriers include perceived lack of benefit, fear of side effects, and inconvenience. At our IB… Continue reading
A Simple Quality Initiative Significantly Improves Post-Procedural Documentation of an Anticoagulation Plan After Elective Endoscopy
Anticoagulation therapy increases the risk of bleeding from endoscopic procedures. Clear documentation of a post-procedural anticoagulation plan is essential to reduce bleeding and limit unnecessary interruptions in patients’ anticoagulation. Societal … Continue reading
Optimizing Colonoscopy Procedures and Reducing Patient Anxiety Through Recently Developed Online Information Resources
Invasive medical procedures such as colonoscopies are known to cause psychological distress and anxiety. Patient anxiety leads to reduced patient compliance for colonoscopy and increased adverse effects. Patient education prior to colonoscopy has previ… Continue reading
Qualitive Improvement Initiative to Eliminate Inpatient Fecal Occult Blood Testing
Fecal occult blood test (FOBT) is not recommended for the evaluation of gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms or anemia in hospitalized patients. Nonetheless, FOBT is still widely used in hospitals and a positive test is a common reason for gastroenterology c… Continue reading
Corneal Abrasions During Endoscopic Procedures in the COVID-19 Era Are a Preventable Phenomenon: A Quality Improvement Project
Corneal abrasion (CA) is the most common ocular adverse event from non-ocular surgery under sedation. CA is a known but rare complication after gastrointestinal endoscopy described in the left eye due to left lateral decubitus positioning for the proce… Continue reading
Improving Colorectal Cancer Screening and Polyp Surveillance During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Colorectal cancer screening and surveillance colonoscopy declined drastically during the initial surge of coronavirus infectious disease (COVID-19) cases in the United States. In August 2020, the state of Georgia (GA) had the highest per-capita circula… Continue reading
A Quality Improvement Project to Improve Knowledge of the Cost of Single-Use Endoscopy Devices in a University-Based Endoscopy Center
Single use endoscopy devices comprise a significant burden of expense to endoscopy units and many devices are not separately chargeable. Quality improvement projects in surgical settings have improved participants’ knowledge of the cost of surgical too… Continue reading
Use of Tokyo Guidelines (TG-18) for Acute Cholangitis Provides Improved Specificity and Accuracy Compared to Fellow Clinical Assessment: A US Academic Center Pilot Study
Acute cholangitis is a serious medical problem unless treated early. Although the diagnostic grading criteria on the 2018 Tokyo Guidelines (TG18) are used worldwide as the primary standard for management of acute cholangitis (AC), they need to be valid… Continue reading
Improving Adherence to Gastric Intestinal Metaplasia Clinical Practice Guidelines Among Gastroenterologists at a U.S. Academic Institution
Gastric cancer (GC) is the 5th leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Endoscopic surveillance of gastric intestinal metaplasia (GIM) may lead to earlier GC detection. Recent guidelines from the American Gastroenterological Association (AG… Continue reading
The Role of a Pharmacist in Improving Vaccination Discussions and Completion in Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) receive preventive care services at a lower rate than the general population. Previous research exploring preventive care services at a tertiary referral center observed that at most 75% of patients comple… Continue reading