An endoscope is a piece of highly integrated medical equipment that is used to visualize the inside of a body part, either through an existing orifice or a created one. An endoscope contains a light and a small camera to record the internal images. An endoscope also contains small pinchers that are used to obtain specimens for biopsy. The trend nowadays is to use disposable one-time-use endoscope tubes to prevent cross contamination, due to the endoscope tubes being hard and expensive to sterilize. We will go over a basic stomach endoscopy.
Instructions
1. Place the patient on an NPO (nothing by mouth) diet for at least eight hours before the procedure is to be done.
2. Place the patient on his back with a neck roll under the neck to tilt the head back for easier insertion of the tube.
3. Spray the patient's throat with a numbing agent to help relax the throat muscles and decrease the natural gag reflex. Have the patient hold his breath before spraying the agent to prevent it from going down into the lungs.
4. Lubricate the entire length of the endoscope tube with the water-based lubricant. This will help with the insertion of the tube.
5. Have the patient open his mouth and hold his breath. Instruct him to swallow as you insert the endoscope tube, as this deactivates the gag reflex and helps increase patient comfort during the tube insertion.
6. Insert the endoscope tube through the patient's mouth, into his throat and down into the esophagus. Use the camera of the endoscope to guide you to be sure you don't go into the lungs. If you accidentally go into the lungs, the patient will usually start coughing. If this happens, withdraw the tube and begin again.
7. Begin taking pictures when the area you want to look at is visualized using the camera attachment on the endoscope tool. Rotate the tube to obtain pictures from different angles.
8. Take samples of any suspicious areas or lesions with the attached biopsy tools. Withdraw the biopsy specimens and place them in containers to be sent to the lab for testing. Reinsert the biopsy tool if additional samples need to be taken.
9. Instruct the patient to take a deep breath and let it out slowly as you withdraw the endoscope.
10. Place the patient in a slightly elevated position and monitor him for several minutes for any complications. When stable, the patient may return to his room, or he may be released to go home if this was done as an outpatient procedure.
Tags: endoscope tube, into lungs, Place patient, down into, endoscope tubes, Have patient, hold breath
