Abstract 1638: Is short interval colonoscopy at the discretion of the gastroenterologist

Abstract

Abstract BACKGROUND: Gastroenterologists do not always follow guidelines for performing colonoscopies. Short interval colonoscopies are recommended at the discretion of gastroenterologists depending on various factors. We here evaluated such factors in an African American patient population. AIM: To assess factors contributing to short interval (within 3 months) colonoscopies. METHODS: Data was retrieved retrospectively from Howard University Hospital database (Jan. 2010 to Dec. 2016). African American patients who had repeated colonoscopies within a period of 3 months were selected for this study. We analyzed patients' demographics, family history, polyp characteristics, and reasons for repeat colonoscopy along with latest follow-up findings. RESULTS: There were 36 patients who underwent two colonoscopies within 3 months, 13 females and 23 males with mean age of 61 years. Out of these, 7 patients (19.4%) had poor bowel preparation. For the remaining 29 patients, the reason for second colonoscopy were partial removal and suspicion of partial removal (61.1%), difficult access (16.7%), and follow-up for Crohn's disease (2.8%). Follow-up of these 36 patients after their last colonoscopy revealed that 8 patients (22.2%) had colon cancer/resection, 4 other patients (11.1%) had cancer of other organs. Of the remaining, 6 (16.6%) had future colon polyp resection, 3 (8.3%) had normal screening colonoscopy and 4 (11.1%) visited the hospital for reasons unrelated to gastroenterology while 11 patients (30.6%) had no follow up. CONCLUSION: Even though there are no recommendations to repeat colonoscopy within 3 months, endoscopists perform such colonoscopies at their own discretion based on factors like high risk individuals, poor bowel preparation, multiple lesions, type of lesions and resection clearance. Of interest, a significant number of patients in our study had colon cancer/resection on eventual follow-ups. Citation Format: Hassan Brim, Abhimanyu Tushir, Shashidhar Manchegowda, Negin Farsi, Edward L. Lee, Laiyemo O. Adeyinka, Seyed M. Nouraie, Hassan Ashktorab. Is short interval colonoscopy at the discretion of the gastroenterologist [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1638.