Grant: CIHR Fellowship

Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) is a relatively new technique that provides high-resolution ultrasound imaging to examine the walls of the digestive tract as well organs near the gastrointestinal tract such as the lungs. EUS can be used to diagnose and treat diseases of the esophagus, stomach, lung, bile duct, pancreas and colon. The high resolution imaging offered by EUS allows for safe sampling of lumps and lesions and has been shown to be more accurate at determining the extent to and spread of certain cancers (for instance cancers of the esophagus and pancreas) compared to other imaging techniques such as computed tomography scan (CT scan) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). On the other hand, it is costly and requires highly trained specialists. Very little is known about how EUS is currently being used, how this may have changed over time or potential inequalities in patient access to EUS. Furthermore, no studies have evaluated health events following EUS at the community-level in Canada. Therefore, the present study aims to describe 1) who receives EUS (including patient factors and underlying diagnosis), 2) how EUS is being delivered (physician characteristics and types of procedures) and 3) important health events that occur after EUS is provided (such as complications and admissions to hospital) in a real world setting using Ontario health administrative databases. The overall goals of this study are to raise awareness among physicians and health care managers about how EUS is delivered and important clinical events related to EUS in Ontario, and thereby encourage informed decision-making regarding patient care and resource allocation for patients who may benefit from EUS.