Confocal Laser Endomicroscopy With Topical Cresyl Violet for Colorectal Polyps

Probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy (pCLE) has been shown to a reliable diagnostic method enabling in vivo microscopic imaging during ongoing endoscopy. Usually fluorescein then serves as a contrast agent for pCLE, but it does not allow direct nuclear visualization, must be injected, leads to a transient skin discoloration, and may have allergic side effects. This study aimed to establish a single topical dye, cresyl violet (CV) for pCLE imaging, to describe pCLE interpretation criteria for the characterization of colorectal polyps with histopathological correlation, and to perform the validation of these criteria.