Artificial Intelligence as a Surrogate for Inspection Time to Assess Completeness in Esophagogastroduodenoscopy: A Prospective, Randomized, Noninferiority Study.

INTRODUCTION

The completeness of esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) is a prerequisite for detecting lesions. This study aims to explore whether the quality of complete examinations assisted by artificial intelligence (AI) would be comparable with those conducted within the guideline-recommended inspection time.

METHODS

Patients referred for diagnostic, screening, or surveillance EGD were enrolled at Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University. Patients were randomly assigned to 2 groups in a 1:1 ratio. In the AI-assisted group, endoscopists completed observation of the entire upper gastrointestinal tract with AI assistance. In the control group, endoscopists were instructed to spend no less than 7 minutes on each procedure. The primary outcome was the detection rate of neoplastic lesions. Noninferiority was confirmed when the lower bound of the 95% confidence interval (CI) was greater than the margin of -1.5%.

RESULTS

A total of 1,723 patients were prospectively enrolled between July 3, 2023, and April 7, 2024. Seven hundred ninety-six and 763 patients in the AI-assisted and control groups were included in the final analysis, respectively. The detection rates of neoplastic lesions in the AI-assisted and control groups were 3.14% and 2.36%, respectively, resulting in an absolute proportion difference of 0.78% (95% CI -0.58% to 2.14%; odds ratio 1.342 [95% CI 0.726-2.480]). The median inspection time was reduced by 1.5 minutes in the AI-assisted group (6.18 [2.87] vs 7.70 [1.90], P < 0.001).

DISCUSSION

Inspection time of complete EGD can be significantly shortened by AI without compromising its quality. These findings provide crucial evidence to support that AI-assisted procedural completeness serves as an objective and effective quality indicator for EGD.