A Study of the Compliance with Guidelines on Consent for Endoscopic Procedures: Matters are much more Complex

Abstract

Background: Consent is an agreement between the patient and the doctor to undergo a diagnostic test or treatment. Endoscopy is a recognised test for diagnosis and treatment for many diseases of digestive tract. New guidelines have been published by the British Society of Gastroenterology regarding consent in endoscopy. Aims and objectives: This study aims to measure the compliance with guidelines on endoscopy as a diagnostic and therapeutic test. Methods: All patients who had Gastroscopy, Flexible Sigmoidoscopy or Colonoscopy in two consecutive weeks during March 2016 at a district general hospital in United Kingdom were identified through patient records. Time gap between receiving information and signing the consent for the procedure was determined. Results: Total of 231 cases were studied. Distribution of cases was Gastroscopy 103, Flexible Sigmoidoscopy 24 and Colonoscopy 104 cases. Taking all the procedures together, our study showed that all patients were given at least 24 hours to make an informed decision regarding the procedure and sign the consent. Conclusion: New guidelines incorporate some new requirements for consent in endoscopy. Further studies should evaluate these in future.