What is an EGD (Gastroscopy)?

EGD – shortened word for esophagogastroduodenoscopy – is a test to examine the lining of the esophagus (the tube that connects your throat to your stomach), stomach, and first part of the small intestine. It is done with a small camera (flexible endoscope) that is inserted down the throat. 

An EGD may be done if you have symptoms that are new, cannot be explained, or are not responding to treatment such as:

· Black or tarry stools or vomiting blood

· Bringing food back up (regurgitation)

· Feeling full sooner than normal or after eating less than usual

· Feeling that food is stuck behind the breastbone

· Heartburn

· Low blood count (anemia) that cannot be explained

· Pain or discomfort in the upper abdomen

· Swallowing problems or pain with swallowing

· Weight loss that cannot be explained

· Nausea or vomiting that does not go away.

An abnormal EGD may be the result of:

• Celiac disease
• Esophageal rings
• Esophageal varices (swollen veins in the lining of the esophagus caused by liver cirrhosis)
• Esophagitis (when the lining of the esophagus becomes inflamed or swollen)
• Gastritis (when the lining of the stomach and duodenum becomes inflamed or swollen)
• Gastroesophageal reflux disease (a condition in which food or liquid from the stomach leaks backwards into the esophagus)
• Hiatal hernia (a condition in which part of the stomach sticks up into the chest through an opening in the diaphragm)
• Lower esophageal ring
• Mallory-Weiss syndrome (tear in the esophagus)
• Narrowing of the esophagus
• Tumors or cancer in the esophagus, stomach, or duodenum (first part of small intestine)
• Ulcers – gastric (stomach) or duodenal (small intestine)