Gastro-esophageal reflux disease symptoms and demographic factors as a pre-screening tool for Barrett's esophagus.

Background: Barrett's esophagus (BE) occurs as consequence of reflux and is a risk factor for esophageal adenocarcinoma. The current "gold-standard" for diagnosing BE is endoscopy which remains prohibitively expensive and impractical as a population screening tool. We aimed to develop a pre-screening tool to aid decision making for diagnostic referrals.

Acceptability and accuracy of a non-endoscopic screening test for Barrett's oesophagus in primary care: cohort study.

Objectives: To determine the accuracy and acceptability to patients of non-endoscopic screening for Barrett's oesophagus, using an ingestible oesophageal sampling device (Cytosponge) coupled with immunocytochemisty for trefoil factor 3.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Setting: 12 UK general practices, with gastroscopies carried out in one hospital endoscopy unit.