The Completion Rate of Colonoscopy in Normal Daily Practice: Factors Associated with Failure

Abstract

Background: Colonoscopy is an important diagnostic procedure for screening as well as for patients presenting with complaints. The completion of a colonoscopy is defined as cecal intubation. A large single center study was done in order to evaluate the completion rate of colonoscopy and identify reasons for failure. Patients and Methods: We reviewed all consecutive endoscopies of the lower digestive tract done over a period of 15 years by 2 endoscopists. The main outcome measure was a successful cecal intubation. Results: 14,139 consecutive colonoscopies were done. Overall cecal intubation was successful in 11,787 procedures (83.3%). Three hundred and sixty-one of the nonsuccessful procedures were due to insufficient colon cleansing, and no significant abnormalities were seen in 362 procedures. In the remaining 1,629 endoscopies, significant diagnoses were made. The presence of colorectal cancer, diverticula and inflammatory bowel disease were significant findings in nonsuccessful procedures. Conclusion: In normal daily practice, colonoscopy is completed in 83.3% of the procedures. Reasons for failure are obstructing tumors, diverticula and insufficient colon cleansing.

Variation in caecal intubation rates between screening and symptomatic patients

“…9 Our results have confirmed the importance of female gender, poor bowel preparation and the presence of tumours; however, we did not demonstrate any significant differences in the proportions of patients with these factors, between the screening and symptomatic groups of patients.…”

Performing colonoscopy in elderly and very elderly patients: Risks, costs and benefits

“…In the United States, studies on patients of all ages undergoing elective screening or surveillance colonoscopy report high completion rates above 95% [28] . Studies on symptomatic patients (including those with non-traversable obstructing lesions) report completion rates of around 83% [29] . Colonoscopy in the elderly is technically more challenging than in younger patients because of various factors, including more extensive diverticulosis, higher incidence of tortuosity or post-surgical adhesions, and higher risk of complications [4] .…”

Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography Enhanced Tc-99m-Pertechnetate Disodium-Labelled Red Blood Cell Scintigraphy in the Localization of Small Intestine Bleeding: A Single-Centre Twelve-Year Study

“…The history and clinical examination can often distinguish upper and lower GI bleeding. Upper GI tract and colon haemorrhage can be confirmed and localized using conventional endoscopy (gastroscopy, push enteroscopy and colonoscopy), which is the method of choice [1,2]. Small intestinal bleeding is more problematic and conventional endoscopy has limited value in the small intestine.…”