To demonstrate the capability of endoscopic 3-dimensional optical coherence tomography (3D-OCT) for the identification and characterization of buried glands before and after RFA therapy.
Cross-sectional study.
Single teaching hospital.
Twenty-six male and 1 female white patients with BE undergoing RFA treatment.
3D-OCT was performed at the gastroesophageal junction in 18 patients before attaining complete eradication of intestinal metaplasia (pre-CE-IM group) and in 16 patients after CE-IM (post-CE-IM group).
Prevalence, size, and location of buried glands relative to the squamocolumnar junction.
3D-OCT provided an approximately 30 to 60 times larger field of view compared with jumbo and standard biopsy and sufficient imaging depth for detecting buried glands. Based on 3D-OCT results, buried glands were found in 72%of patients (13/18) in the pre-CE-IM group and 63%of patients (10/16) in the post-CE-IM group. The number (mean [standard deviation]) of buried glands per patient in the post-CE-IM group (7.1 [9.3]) was significantly lower compared with the pre-CE-IM group (34.4 [44.6]; P = .02). The buried gland size (P = .69) and distribution (P = .54) were not significantly different before and after CE-IM.
A single-center, cross-sectional study comparing patients at different time points in treatment. Lack of 1-to-1 coregistered histology for all OCT data sets obtained in vivo.
Buried glands were frequently detected with 3D-OCT near the gastroesophageal junction before and after radiofrequency ablation.