Comparison of Patients' Satisfaction for Transnasal or Transoral Endoscopy in Unsedated Patients

Lee, Kee Myung; Sim, Sung Jun; Choi, Jeong Woo; Choi, Sung Jun; Kwon, Hyeock Choon; Choi, Sang Jo; Choi, Joon Hyuck; Cheong, Jae Youn; Yoo, Byeong Moo; Hahm, Ki Baik; Kim, Jin Hong

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS
The aim of this study was to compare the patient's satisfaction and tolerance of transnasal (TN) and transoral (TO) endoscopy prospectively.
METHODS
120 patients were assigned to undergo TN (age: 49.5, M : F=65 : 55) or TO (age: 47.4, M : F=63 : 57) endoscopy according to their wishes.
RESULTS
The patients' satisfaction was higher in the TN group than in the TO group (8.45 vs. 4.95, p <0.05). The degree of choking sensation, nausea, and throat soreness was lower in the TN group than the TO group. There was no difference in endoscopists' satisfaction between the two groups. The duration for TN was longer than for TO. Epistaxis and nasal pain were the common complications in the TN group. All complications were mild and were relieved spontaneously. An endoscopic examination could be completed in all patients in the TO group. In the TN group, examination failure was quite common in the early phase but the incidence decreased with increasing experience. It took the experience of at least 20 cases for the endoscopist to adapt to the TN route.
CONCLUSIONS
TN endoscopy is believed to be a comfortable and safe procedure for improving the patients' satisfaction and for reducing the level of inconvenience.