Inside Pediatrics Fall/Winter 2023-2024

A GAME CHANGER NEW DEVICE MAKES ESOPHAGEAL ENDOSCOPY SAFER FOR EOE PATIENTS

C hildren’s of Alabama is among the first 10 pediatric medical centers in the nation to use a new endoscope that can make transnasal endoscopy (TNE) faster and easier for some patients with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE). The device, manufactured by EvoEndo, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last year. Children’s began using it in June 2023. EoE is a chronic immune-mediated inflammatory disease of the esophagus resulting in symptoms and signs of esophageal dysfunction. Physicians use endoscopy every two to three months to biopsy tissue to evaluate treatment success. The new endoscope,

which is inserted through the nose into the esophagus, requires no general anesthesia, just an anesthetic spray to numb the nasal passages. Patients remain awake during the procedure and need to fast for only two hours prior. Virtual reality goggles keep the patient’s focus off the procedure, while a family member can be in the room observing and getting updates in real time. Children’s pediatric gastroenterologist Diana Montoya Melo, M.D., says it’s a potential game changer for patients and their families. Montoya Melo and Nicholas CaJacob, M.D., also a pediatric gastroenterologist at Children’s, each perform about 10 EoE endoscopic procedures a week. Previously, the standard endoscopic procedure involved inserting the endoscope through the mouth into the esophagus. That method requires general anesthesia and intubation, fasting for at least six hours, a very early arrival at the hospital, IV insertion and about an hour in

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Inside Pediatrics | Children’s of Alabama