Study design, patients, and indications
This study was a clinical service evaluation of the outcomes associated with the introduction of CR ESD within a single institution. A prospectively maintained database of consecutive CR-ESDs performed between July 2013 and December 2015 was created. All procedures were performed on lesions that met established clinical criteria for resection [9]; 1) sessile lesions > 2 cm, 2) laterally spreading tumors nongranular type (LST-NG) > 2 cm, and 3) mixed type and homogenous LST tumors granular type (LST-G) > 3 cm. Additionally, CR-ESD was considered for lesions with recurrence on a scar, those suspected of mild (<1000 um) submucosal infiltration or lesions for which previous endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) had failed. We did not exclude any lesions exclusively because of their size or location. All performed procedures were included in the database. CR ESD was not performed where there was suspicion of deep tumor infiltration, non-acceptance by the patient, and lack of coverage by the medical insurance company. In these cases, standard therapy was offered.
Patient outcomes were monitored for a follow up period of 36 months post procedure. Patients were instructed to attend our institution in the event of any post procedural symptoms. We ensured that any complications encountered were captured by our analysis with two follow-up visits, 4 and 16 weeks after the procedure.
In this study of prospectively collected data, we analyzed 80 colorectal lesions in 68 patients who were treated by CR-ESD at our institution between July 2013 and December 2015. To identify evidence of improvement in the development of this technique at our hospital, we compared results of our first 80 CR-ESDs divided into 4 groups of 20 cases with increasing experience. This pragmatical approach was decided in order to facilitate the observation of the evolution of the learning curve, more easily that with only two groups
Endoscopist and endoscopic protocol
All procedures were performed by a single endoscopist (F.R-Z), who, as an expert in therapeutic colonoscopy, having personally performed more than 200 EMRs and 2000 polypectomies. ESD was implemented after the endoscopist had acquired the necessary technical skills by training in an isolated animal model for over one year, attending national training courses. He observed multiple colorectal ESD online resources. The intent was to perform standard untutored ESD in all cases.
The patients underwent bowel preparation at home with 2 sachets of sodium picosulfate and magnesium citrate (SPMC). All procedures were carried out in an operating room. The dissection was performed under general anesthesia controlled by an anesthesiologist. Dissections were performed with the ERBEJET 2 hydrodissection system and Hybrid Knife T-type (ERBE, Germany). ERBE VIO 300D was used as the electrosurgical unit (ERBE, Germany). The endoscopy equipment included a high-definition retroview colonoscope (Retroview colonoscopeTM EC–3490TLi. Pentax, Japan) and a gastroscope (EG–2990i Pentax, Japan).
The insufflation was achieved with CO2, except for 31 (39%) procedures that were carried out with room air. To facilitate visualization of the resection area, a disposable distal cap attached to the tip of the endoscope, with a conical shape (DH28GR, 29CR, Fujifilm, Japan) or a straight shape (D–201–11804, Olympus, Japan), was used. Two different types of hemostatic forceps, (Coagrasper, Olympus, Japan and bipolar Hemostat Y, Pentax, Japan), were used to control bleeding. Any perforations were closed using clips (Resolution Clip, Boston Scientific, United States).
To diagnose recurrences, we followed up the scar for 3 years after the procedure. At least 3 biopsies were taken from the scar area during the follow-up colonoscopies.
Definitions and outcomes
The definitions used related to ESD are included in Table 1. The primary outcome of this study was en bloc resection rate. Secondary outcomes were: complication rate (bleeding and perforation),knife en bloc (KEB) resection (figure 1) rate, knife-snare en bloc (KSEB) resection (figure 2) rate, conversion rate to endoscopic piecemeal mucosal resection (EPMR), complete resection rate, curative resection rate.
Statistical Analysis
Because this study meant to evaluate the results during the introduction of the technique in the initial 80 cases, that has been considered as the initial phase of learning curve, a power calculation was not performed.
The statistical analysis was carried out as per lesion analysis. The Kolmogorov–Smirnov test with Lilliefors correction was used to evaluate whether the data followed a normal distribution. Categorical variables are presented as frequencies and percentages. Continuous variables are expressed as the mean (±SD). The χ2 -based proportion test with Yates correction or Fisher’s exact test was used to evaluate differences among categorical variables; for continuous variables, either a 2-tailed t test (when the normality and homogeneity of variance assumptions were met) or the nonparametric Mann–Whitney U test was used. For all statistical tests, differences with a confidence interval (CI) of 95% and a p < 0.05 were considered significant. Statistical analysis was performed using the IBM SPSS version 24.0 program.