Development and evaluation of an endoscopic technique permitting rapid visualization of the cardiac region of the porcine stomach.

Our study was designed to ascertain whether a flexible videoscope could be used to efficiently monitor ulcers of the pars esophagea in a large group of grower-finisher swine. Gastroscopy was performed on 2 separate occasions in 32 pigs following anesthesia with intravenous pentobarbital, and ulcers of the pars esophagea were subjectively graded. The pigs were then necropsied. Grades from the second endoscopic examination were compared for agreement with grades derived from gross inspection of the pars esophagea at necropsy, and with grades derived from histopathologic examination of sections of the same region. The pars esophagea was adequately visualized in all endoscopic examinations. The average duration of each examination, from anesthetic induction, was approximately 8 min. Gastroscopy permitted appreciation of a wide range of focal and diffuse superficial and deep ulcerative lesions of the pars esophagea, but failed to unequivocally identify parakeratosis of the pars esophagea. Agreement between endoscopic and subsequent necroscopic and histopathologic gradings of ulcerations was poor. We concluded that the use of a flexible videoscope permitted rapid inspection of the pars esophagea, and was therefore a practical method of experimentally monitoring the progression of spontaneous gastric ulcers in pigs. We also postulated that the poor agreement between endoscopic and postmortem findings occurred because endoscopy was possibly more sensitive at detecting small and superficial ulcerations. However, further studies are needed to verify the accuracy of endoscopic diagnosis of gastric ulcers in the live pig.