Assessment of Esophageal Distensibility and Mucosal Impedance in Dysplastic Barrett's Esophagus Patients Undergoing Radiofrequency Ablation

Summary

Patients undergoing ablative therapy for management of dysplastic Barrett's Esophagus (BE) will have decreased distensibility over the course of treatment, but improvement in mucosal impedance as BE epithelia is replaced by neosquamous epithelia. This information may lead to further research in predicting therapeutic response and complications. The purpose of this research is to collect information while measuring changes related to the esophagus in patients that receive radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for dysplastic Barrett's Esophagus (BE) or esophageal cancer. Study participation includes measurements of the esophagus with the use of two different devices. This takes place during clinically indicated upper endoscopies during the timeframe the participant is receiving RFA treatments. This process will take up to an additional 10 minutes during the upper endoscopy and be done while the participant is sedated.

Arms & interventions

• Diagnostic TestRadiofrequency ablation alone

  If there is no evidence of nodularity, these patients will undergo RFA. Clinical biopsies utilizing a large-capacity biopsy forceps (Radial Jaw 4, Boston Scientific, Marlborough, MA) are obtained. RFA may be delivered through several devices under the BarrX RFA System (Medtronic USA, Minnetonka, MN), including a circumferential balloon catheter (Halo 360; figure 1), or over the scope focal catheter (Halo 90 or 60). The Halo 360 treats a circumferential 4 cm segment at a time, whereas the focal catheters treat a 1.3x2 cm (Halo 90) or 1.0x1.5 cm (Halo 60) area.

Outcome measures

Eligibility criteria