Abstract

GOMEZ, Martín A; OTERO R, William; ARBELAEZ M, Victor  and  RODRIGUEZ, Jesús. Ecoendoscopia: Indicaciones de la A a la Z. Rev Col Gastroenterol [online]. 2005, vol.20, n.2, pp.34-64. ISSN 0120-9957.

The echoendoscopy, endoscopic ultrasound or endosonography is an exam which combines  the endoscopic and ultrasound images, with the purpose of evaluating the lesions that are not only in the wall of the gastrointestinal tract but also around it. This exam also allows to stadify the patients with gastrointestinal cancer, tumors of the pancreas, lungs, etc. Therefore, the indications of the echoendoscopy are very wide, (some, better supported by the literature than others) and its  purposes multiple, being this a diagnostic tool used as a routine exam in many centers of gastroenterology around the world. The current tendency is to pass from the  diagnostic to the therapeutic echoendoscopy since it is being used for multiple purposes,  like  guiding minimally invasive surgeries,  taking  biopsies at all levels and for the application of biological therapies; therefore, the usefulness of this exam is really impressive. A concise review of the literature was made to summarize all the applications of the echoendoscopy with the purpose of familiarizing gastroenterologists with the indications and possible therapeutic applications.

Keywords : Radial echoendoscopy; linear echoendoscopy; endoscopic ultrasound; endosonography; gastrointestinal cancer; pancreas cancer; fine-needle aspiration biopsy (EUS-FNA); coledocholitiasis; GIST.

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