Use of endoscopic biopsy for diagnosing congestive gastropathy.

The specificity of endoscopic biopsy specimens in diagnosing congestive gastropathy in 20 patients with portal hypertension, 20 patients with liver disease without portal hypertension, and 20 patients with a normal stomach at endoscopy without liver disease was examined. Histological assessment, which was performed without knowledge of the clinical details, showed changes previously reported to be indicative of congestive gastropathy in 9 (47%) of patients with portal hypertension. Similar changes were also seen in 17 (85%) of patients with liver disease without portal hypertension and in 16 (84%) of patients with normal endoscopies without liver disease. These results show that the histological changes seen in endoscopic biopsy specimens of congestive gastropathy are not specific for this condition and therefore cannot be used to diagnose objectively the disease or assess management.