Endoscopic Ultrasound

How to Prepare for the Test

Your health care provider will tell you what to do. You will be told when to stop drinking and eating before the test.

Give your provider a list of all the medicines you take (prescription and over-the-counter), herbs, and supplements. You will be told when you can take these. Some need to be stopped a week before the test. Ask your provider which medicines you should take on the morning of surgery.

Since you will not be able to drive or return to work on the day of this test, you will need someone to take you home.

How the Test will Feel

Before this test you will get medicine through an IV to help you relax (a sedative). You may fall asleep or not remember the test. Some people feel the test is slightly uncomfortable.

For the first hour after this test, you may feel sleepy and unable to drink or walk. You may have a sore throat. Air or carbon dioxide gas may have been put in your digestive tract during the test to move the tube more easily. This may make you feel bloated, but this feeling will go away.

When you are fully awake, you can be taken home. Rest that day. You may have fluids and light meals.

Why the Test is Performed

You may have this test to:

• Find the cause of abdominal pain
• Find the cause of weight loss
• Diagnose diseases of the pancreas, bile duct, and gallbladder
• Guide a biopsy of tumors, lymph nodes, and other tissue
• Look at cysts, tumors, and cancers
• Look for stones in the bile duct

This test can also stage cancers of the:

• Esophagus
• Stomach
• Pancreas
• Rectum

Normal Results

The organs will appear normal.

What Abnormal Results Mean

The results depend on what is found during the test. If you DO NOT understand the results, or have questions or concerns, talk to your provider.

Risks

Risks for any sedation are:

• Reactions to medicine
• Problems breathing

Complications from this test include:

• Bleeding
• A tear in the lining of the digestive tract
• Infection
• Pancreatitis

References

Lee LS. Endoscopic ultrasound. In: McNalley PR, ed. GI/Liver Secrets Plus. 5th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders; 2015:chap 71.

Pasricha PJ. Gastrointestinal endoscopy. In: Goldman L, Schafer AI, eds. Goldman's Cecil Medicine. 25th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders; 2016:chap 134.