Johnson B, et al. - Researchers attempted to quantify rates of serious complications from esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) with biopsy. Based on the reasoning that serious complications would cause hospitalization within 30 days, thirteen thousand, two hundred thirty-three patients undergoing outpatient EGD with biopsy over 5 years in 2 North Dakota community hospitals were studied. They reported that EGD biopsy was safe within community settings and suggested that the risk/benefit ratio for performing EGD biopsy for research was likely to be favorable if the research has scientific merit. In community hospitals in North Dakota, serious complications or perforation following EGD biopsy did not occur in 13,233 patients.