Gender Determined Flexible Sigmoidoscopy Planning

The most common investigation carried out in UK hospitals to investigate bright red rectal bleeding is a flexible sigmoidoscopy (FS). The role of flexible sigmoidoscopy in colorectal screening has not yet been fully ascertained and colonoscopy remains the investigation of choice for the diagnosis of colonic pathology. However, FS is a simple, quick, sensitive and specific investigation to diagnose and even treat some left sided colorectal lesions. We investigated whether there was any difference between male and female patients undergoing FS in terms of duration and extent of procedure, and describe for the first time a significant increase in time taken to complete the examination in females. As eleven males may be scoped in a similar time to ten females this may have bearing on service efficiency.