Transnasal Endoscopy in Unsedated Children With Eosinophilic Esophagitis Using Virtual Reality Video Goggles.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Evaluation and treatment of children with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) requires serial endoscopic, visual, and histologic assessment by sedated esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD). Unsedated transnasal endoscopy (TNE) was reported to be successful in a pilot study of children. We evaluated video goggle and virtual reality-based unsedated TNE in children with EoE, collecting data on rates of completion, adverse events, and adequacy of visual and histologic findings. METHODS: We performed a retrospective study of 190 children and young adults (age, 3-22 y) who underwent video goggle or virtual reality-based unsedated TNE from January 2015 through February 2018. We analyzed data on patient demographics, procedure completion, endoscope type, adverse events, visual and histologic findings, estimated costs, and duration in the facility. Esophageal biopsies from the first 173 subjects who underwent TNE were compared with those from previous EGD evaluations. RESULTS: During 300 attempts, 294 TNEs were performed (98% rate of success). Fifty-four patients (age, 6-18 y) underwent multiple TNEs for dietary or medical management of EoE. There were no significant adverse events. Visual and histologic findings were adequate for assessment of EoE. TNE reduced costs by 53.4% compared with EGD (TNE $4393.00 vs EGD $9444.33). TNE was used increasingly from 2015 through 2017, comprising 31.8% of endoscopies performed for EoE. The total time spent in the clinic (front desk check-in to check-out) in 2018 was 71 minutes. CONCLUSIONS: In a retrospective study of 190 children and young adults (age, 3-22 y) who underwent video goggle or virtual reality-based unsedated TNE, TNE was safe and effective and reduced costs of EoE monitoring. Advantages of TNE include reduced risk and cost associated with anesthesia as well as decreased in-office time, which is of particular relevance for patients with EoE, who require serial EGDs.

Evaluating the Inpatient Pediatric Ethical Consultation Service.

OBJECTIVES: Pediatric ethical consultation services (ECSs) have been proliferating at medical centers, with little data available on evaluating their implementation. The objective of this study was to evaluate the pediatric ECS and understand the ethical issues occurring within a single quaternary-level pediatric hospital. METHODS: A retrospective chart review of documented ethics consultations at a large pediatric hospital from November 2010 to November 2013 was performed and data was abstracted per the US Department of Veterans Affairs' Domains of Ethics in Health Care. An anonymous, prospective survey regarding ethical issues encountered was distributed electronically to ∼3500 inpatient staff from November 2013 through January 2014. Ethical domains, demographics, feelings of distress by staff, and location of occurrence data were collected. These data were compared with formally documented ethics consults from the retrospective chart review and ECS activity during the same period. RESULTS: A total of 47 ethics consults were documented between 2010 and 2013, primarily in the domains of end-of-life care (19; 40%) and shared decision-making (17; 36%). Sixty-three staff members (92% female; 42% nurses; 20% attending physicians) logged an encountered ethical issue between November 2013 and January 2014, corresponding to only 5 documented ethics consults in the same time period. Domains included end-of-life care (18; 28.5%), shared decision-making (13; 20.6%), everyday workplace (11; 17.4%), professionalism (8; 12.6%), and resource allocation (7; 11%). Eighty-one percent of subjects reported personal or professional distress. CONCLUSIONS: On the basis of this single-center study in which we reviewed formal documentation, we determined that formal pediatric ECSs are underused, particularly for ethical domains that cause staff members moral distress.