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Endoscopy is an evolving science and the last two decades has seen it expand exponentially at a pace unapparelled in the past. With the advancement in new procedures like image-enhanced endoscopy, magnifying endoscopy, third space endoscopy, and highly advanced endoscopic ultrasound procedures, endoscopic accessories are also evolving to cater the unmet needs. Endoscopic cap or distal attachment cap is a simple but very important accessory in the endoscopists' armamentarium which has changed the path of endoscopic procedures. It has so far been used commonly mostly for variceal ligation and endoscopic mucosal resections for colorectal polyps. But the horizon of its use has expanded in the recent years for difficult clinical scenarios like providing stability to the endoscope, overcoming blind spots during screening colonoscopies, maintaining clear field of vision during endotherapy of gastrointestinal bleeding, and during magnification endoscopy for lesion characterizations and so on. These caps are of different shapes, sizes, colors, and material depending on manufacturers and their implications while performing varied endoscopies. This review summarizes the clinical utilities of the cap in diagnostic as well as therapeutic endoscopy and its expanding indications of use.

Background This study was aimed to evaluate efficacy and safety of Z–peroral endoscopic myotomy (Z-POEM; submucosal tunneling endoscopic myotomy) for Zenker’s diverticulum (ZD). Methods This is a retrospective study at a single tertiary care center in India. The Z-POEM technique was performed using principles of submucosal tunneling endoscopy with prior experience from POEM technique for achalasia cardia Results Sixteen patients (male, 62.5%; mean age, 73.2 ± 5.2 years) were included with a mean Charleson’s comorbidity index of 4.32. The mean size of ZD was 34.8 ± 10.0 mm. The technical success rate was 100%. Clinical success was achieved in 100% (16/16) with a decrease in mean dysphagia score from 2.9 to 0.2 (p Conclusion Endoscopic management of ZD using the POEM technique is a promising technique with improved efficacy and safety. However, long-term follow-up is needed to ensure the durability of response.

Background and study aims Crush cytology is a simple and rapid method used for diagnosis of central nervous system lesions. We have evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of crush cytology for gastrointestinal tract lesions. Patients and methods This was a prospective, cross-sectional, single center study, conducted on the patients who had suspected malignant lesions between August 2018 and March 2020. The crush cytologic diagnoses were correlated with histology to determine the diagnostic accuracy. Results During the period of interest, a total of 451 patients (26.4 % esophagus & GE junction, 16.6 % stomach, 5.9 % ampulla & duodenum, and 50.9 % colorectal) had a suspected malignant lesion on endoscopic examination. Histology confirmed 92.9 % cases as malignant lesions and 7.1 % as nonmalignant. On crush cytology, 84.5 % were positive for malignancy, 8.9 % were negative for malignancy and 6.6 % were reported as suspicious for malignancy. The overall sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and diagnostic accuracy of crush cytology were 97.3 %, 90 %, 99.2 %, 72.5 % and 96.9 %, respectively. Conclusions Crush cytology is a highly sensitive, specific, rapid and cost effective technique to diagnose gastrointestinal malignancies in endoscopically suspected malignant lesions. However, it cannot entirely substitute histopathological examination for definite tumor typing, grading, confirming invasion and in cases in which cytology is suspicious. Crush cytology is an added asset to the histology to maximize diagnostic accuracy and accelerating decision making for the management of lesions.