Medical procedure unlikely to be responsible for ongoing ear, throat and eye symptoms

What happened

Mr S had a gastroscopy in summer 2013. This is a procedure where a thin, flexible tube called an endoscope is used to look inside the stomach.ÿ Doctors found nothing untoward, and Mr S's consultant prescribed him medication to treat acid reflux (when stomach acid moves up into the gullet) and discharged him.

Mr S complained to the Trust in spring 2014 that he had had ongoing ear, nose and throat symptoms which started around the time he had the gastroscopy. He was concerned that they were linked and he raised particular concerns about the way the procedure was carried out.

The Trust explained the procedure and the equipment used.

It also responded to Mr S's concerns and said there was no evidence in the records of any problems during the gastroscopy. It said the procedure can cause short term symptoms such as a sore throat, but there was no evidence it had caused the long term problems Mr S had described.

Mr S was unhappy with the Trust's response and contacted us.

What we found

We did not uphold the complaint. There was no evidence of poor care by the Trust and the records were of good quality. The procedure was well documented and we saw no evidence in the records of any problems or of anything going wrong. The records showed that the procedure was straightforward and went smoothly. The Trust provided reasonable explanations in response to Mr S's concerns.

Gastroscopy procedures can cause short–lived symptoms such as mild soreness of the throat, but they do not cause long–term symptoms. We concluded that, on the balance of probabilities, Mr S's ongoing problems were not linked to the gastroscopy.