Endoscopic abbreviations

We all use abbreviations when we write papers for scientific journals. Abbreviations help us to limit the word count of a research paper, especially when, as is common nowadays, journals stipulate a maximum word count.

Furthermore, in daily clinical practice, some procedures or devices are often referred to by their abbreviation, not only in discussions between colleagues but also when we are talking to our patients. Examples include EMR and ESD for endoscopic mucosal resection and endoscopic submucosal dissection, respectively, both of which are well recognized and easily understood.

However, there are also abbreviations that are less common and that are used in some articles but are written out in full in others. Examples include ER for endoscopic resection and SC for screening colonoscopy. Moreover, some abbreviations can have more than one meaning; for example, IM can stand for intramuscular, intramucosal, or intestinal metaplasia. Other abbreviations could stand for words or phrases not directly related to our field, such as MI for myocardial infarction or mitral valve insufficiency.

For the sake of clarity, Endoscopy and Gastrointestinal Endoscopy have joined forces to compile a list of generally accepted abbreviations to be used in our journals. As you will see, we also include some terms that we feel should always be written in full.

Our expectation is that this compilation will not only assist our authors when they are writing their papers, but will also help our readers avoid getting mired in unfamiliar abbreviations.

Of course, the abbreviations in this list are based on words and phrases that have been used in both journals in the past few years. We realize that procedures are evolving and new innovative products will be introduced in our endoscopy suites. We therefore plan to update the abbreviations regularly. For your reference, this list and future updated versions can be downloaded from the websites of both journals.

We hope this list is helpful to those writing research papers for Endoscopy and Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.

Deborah E. Bowman, MFA, ELS, Senior Managing Editor of Clinical Publications, Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

Hilary Hamilton-Gibbs, Managing Editor, Endoscopy

Michael B. Wallace, MD, MPH, Editor-in-Chief, Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

Peter D. Siersema, MD, PhD, Editor-in-Chief, Endoscopy

Word or Phrase	Abbreviation
acute biliary pancreatitis	ABP
acute necrotic collection	ANC
acute pancreatitis	Write in full
acute peripancreatic fluid collection	APFC
adenoma detection rate	ADR
analysis of covariance	ANCOVA
analysis of variance	ANOVA
anteroposterior	Write in full
area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve	AUC
argon plasma coagulation	APC
artificial neural network	ANN
autofluorescence imaging	AFI
autoimmune pancreatitis	AIP
Barrett's esophagus	BE
benign biliary stricture	BBS
biosimilar	BSim
body mass index	BMI
Boston Bowel Preparation Scale	BBPS
capsule endoscopy	Use video capsule endoscopy (VCE)
carcinoembryonic antigen	CEA
celiac plexus neurolysis	CPN
charge-coupled device	CCD
cholangiocarcinoma	CCA
choledochoduodenostomy	CDS
chronic pancreatitis	Write in full
chronic radiation proctopathy	CRP
Clinical Outcomes Research Initiative	CORI
colorectal cancer	CRC
common bile duct	CBD
computed tomographic colonography	CTC
computed tomography	CT
computer-aided design	CAD
confidence interval	CI
confidence limit	CL
confocal laser endomicroscopy with variants: probe-based CLE, needle-based CLE, endoscope-based CLE	CLE; also pCLE, nCLE, eCLE
contrast enhancement	Write in full
C-reactive protein	CRP
Crohn's disease	CD
cumulative sum	CUSUM
diagnostic odds ratio	DOR
direct endoscopic necrosectomy	DEN
dose area product	DAP
double-balloon enteroscopy	DBE
early gastric cancer	EGC
electrohydraulic lithotripsy	EHL
electronic chromoendoscopy	ECE
endogastric tube	EGT
endoscopic full-thickness resection	EFTR
endoscopic mucosal resection	EMR
endoscopic resection	Write in full
endoscopic retrograde cholangiography	ERC
endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography	ERCP
endoscopic retrograde pancreatography	ERP
endoscopic sphincterotomy	Write in full
endoscopic submucosal dissection	ESD
endoscopic ultrasound or endoscopic ultrasonography	EUS
endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration	EUS-FNA
enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay	ELISA
eosinophilic esophagitis	EoE
erythrocyte sedimentation rate	ESR
esophageal adenocarcinoma	EAC
esophageal introitus	Replace by upper esophageal sphincter (UES)
esophageal squamous cell carcinoma	ESCC
esophagogastric junction	EGJ
esophagogastroduodenoscopy	EGD
EUS-guided biliary drainage	EUS-BD
EUS-guided gallbladder drainage	EUS-GBD
extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy	ESWL
familial adenomatous polyposis	FAP
fecal immunochemical test	FIT
fecal occult blood test	FOBT
fine-needle aspiration	FNA
flexible sigmoidoscopy	Write in full
flexible spectral imaging color enhancement	FICE
fluorescence in situ hybridization	FISH
fluorodeoxyglucose	FDG
fully covered self-expandable metal stent	FCSEMS
gastric intestinal metaplasia	GIM
gastric outlet obstruction	GOO
Gastric Outlet Obstruction Scoring System	GOOSS
gastroesophageal reflux disease	GERD
gastrointestinal	GI
GI stromal tumor	GIST
hazard ratio	HR
Helicobacter pylori	HP
hematoxylin and eosin	H&E
hepatic abscess	Write in full
hepaticogastrostomy	HPG
high definition	Use high-definition resolution
high-definition resolution	HDR
high-grade dysplasia	HGD
high-grade intra-epithelial neoplasia	HGIN
high-resolution manometry	HRM
hyperplastic polyp	Write in full
image-enhanced endoscopy	IEE
immunoglobulin	Ig
infected pancreatic necrosis	IPN
inflammatory bowel disease	IBD
intention-to-treat	ITT
international normalized ratio	INR
interquartile range	IQR
intestinal metaplasia	IM
intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm	IPMN
intraductal ultrasonography	IDUS
intramuscular or intramucosal	Write in full
laterally spreading tumor	LST
likelihood ratio	LR
lower esophageal sphincter	LES
lower GI bleeding	LGIB
low-grade dysplasia	LGD
low-grade intraepithial neoplasia	LGIN
lumen-apposing metal stent	LAMS
lymph node	LN
lymph node metastasis	LNM
magnetic resonance cholagiopancreatography	MRCP
magnetic resonance enterography	MRE
magnetic resonance imaging	MRI
magnetic resonance imaging	MRI
mean adenomas per procedure	MAP
metabolic syndrome	MetS
mucinous cystic neoplasm	MCN
mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue	MALT
mucosal vascular pattern	MVP
narrow-band imaging	NBI
nasogastric	Write in full
nasogastric tube	NGT
natural orifice transluminal endopscopic surgery	NOTES
necrotizing pancreatitis	Write in full
needle-based confocal laser endomicroscopy	nCLE
negative predictive value	NPV
neuroendocrine tumor	NET
nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug	NSAID
normal saline solution	NSS
obscure GI bleeding	OGIB
odds ratio	OR
open gastrojejunostomy	OGJ
open-access endoscopy	OAE
oral sodium sulfate	OSS
orthotopic liver transplantation	OLT
over-the-scope clip	OTSC
pancreatic duct	PD
pancreatic fluid collection	PFC
pancreatic stent placement	PSP
partially covered self-expandable metal stent	PCSEMS
peptic ulcer disease	PUD
percutaneous drainage	PCD
percutaneous endoscopic gastrojejunostomy	PEGJ
percutaneous endoscopic jejunostomy	PEJ
percutaneous endoscopic necrosectomy	PEN
peroral endoscopic myotomy	POEM
peroral pancreatoscopy	POPS
photodynamic therapy	PDT
polyethylene glycol	PEG
polyglycolic acid	PGA
polymerase chain reaction	PCR
polyp detection rate	PDR
positive predictive value	PPV
positron emission tomography	PET
post-ERCP pancreatitis	PEP
Preservation and Incorporation of Valuable Endoscopic Innovations	PIVI
primary sclerosing cholangitis	PSC
probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy	pCLE
proton pump inhibitor	PPI
radiofrequency ablation	RFA
randomized controlled trial	RCT
rapid on-site evaluation	ROSE
receiver operating characteristic	ROC
rectal telangiectasia density	RTD
regions of interest	ROI
relative risk or risk ratio	RR
Roux-en-Y gastric bypass	RYGB
screening colonoscopy	Write in full
self-expandable metal stent	SEMS
serious adverse event	SAE
sessile serrated adenoma	SSA
sessile serrated polyp	SSP
single-balloon enteroscopy	SBE
small bowel	Write in full
small-bowel capsule endoscopy	SBCE
spastic esophageal disorder	SED
sphincter of Oddi dysfunction	SOD
sphincter of Oddi manometry	SOM
squamous cell carcinoma	SCC
standard deviation	SD
standard error of the mean	SEM
submucosal	Write in full
submucosal fluid cushion	SFC
submucosal gland	SMG
systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS)	SIRS
Third Eye Retroscope	TER
total radiation dose	TRD
tracheoesophageal fistula	TEF
traditional serrated adenoma	TSA
transhepatic portosystemic shunt	TIPSS
ulcerative colitis	UC
uncovered self-expandable metal stent	USEMS
underwater EMR	UEMR
upper esophageal sphincter	UES
upper GI bleeding	UGIB
video capsule endoscopy	VCE
visual analog scale	VAS
volatile organic compound	VOC
walled-off necrosis	WON
walled-off pancreatic necrosis	Use WON
water exchange	Write in full
water immersion	Write in full
white-light colonoscopy	WLC
white-light endoscopy	WLE
white-light imaging	WLI
wire-guided cannulation	WGC
Brand Name	Abbreviation
Barrx-HALO radiofrequency ablation method	RFA-HALO
DualKnife	Write in full
Hemoclip	Replace with clip
Hemospray	Replace with hemostatic spray
HybridKnife	Write in full
i-SCAN digital contrast	I-SCAN
SpyGlass, SpyProbe, SpyBite cholangioscopy system	Replace with intraductal cholangioscopy (IDC)
WavSTAT	Replace with laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy (LIFS)