Endoscopic examination of the duodenal bulb: clinical evaluation of forward- and side-viewing fibreoptic systems in 200 cases.

Two-hundred fibreoptic examinations of the duodenal bulb were carried out on 149 patients. The importance of combining the initial examination with a general endoscopic survey of the oesophagus and stomach is stressed. At the present time full examination of the duodenal bulb requires the use of both a side-viewing and forward-viewing endoscope in more than a quarter of cases. The safety and acceptability to the patient of multiple endoscopic examinations carried out as an outpatient procedure has been demonstrated, and the value of the procedure in x-ray negative dyspepsia, in the follow up of ulcer therapy, and in acute upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage has been shown.