CT is better than colonoscopy for anatomical localisation of colonic tumours

Abstract

guidelines, colonoscopy in elderly patients is less likely to be successful and is not without risks. We aimed to analyse the yield of colonoscopy, the completion rate and the complications in octogenarians. Methods: All patients who underwent colonoscopy from November 2008 to November 2011 in a District General Hospital were included. Data was extracted from a prospectively collected endoscopy database Data related to endoscopy findings, histology, completion rate and complications encountered was collected and analysed. Results: 986 patients underwent 1030 colonoscopies in the 3 year period. Average age of the cohort was 84 (81-97) years and female to male ratio was 1.23 (570:460). Three hundred and nine (30 %) were reported normal. Significant pathology was identified in 34.3 % including malignancy 7.2 % (75/1030), polyps 25.2 % (260/1030), and inflammatory bowel disease 1.9 % (20/1030). Diverticular disease was the most prevalent benign pathology encountered (45.6 %). The completion rate was 85%. There were 39 complications. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that colonoscopy amongst Octogenarian has a high diagnostic yield and a relatively low complication rate. This procedure could be offered to octogenarian safely, depending on relative cancer risk and co-morbidity.