OBJECTIVES Flexible sigmoidoscopy (flex sig) is an easily administered method of screening for colorectal polyps and cancer. In some patients, the depth of insertion is incomplete, which may result in missed polyps and cancers. To address the question of prospective patient selection for this procedure, we analyzed the factors affecting depth of insertion of sigmoidoscopies performed in outpati...

In a study to assess the value of sigmoidoscopy in the routine investigation of homosexual men, this procedure was undertaken on 1118 men who attended a sexually transmitted diseases clinic as "new" or "return new" patients. Serious rectal disease was not identified in any of the 557 men who were symptomless at the initial attendance. Though the extent of the proctitis diagnosed in 166 men woul...

Meckel's diverticulum which has been involved in an intussusception. Polyps Painless bleeding suggests a solitary rectal polyp. These are almost always not adenomatous. The bleeding, separate from the stool and of moderate quantity, necessitates sigmoidoscopy and snaring of the polyp. Such polyps should be sent for histological examination to check that they are not premalignant. Multiple polyp...

An 85 year old woman presented with a one month history of change in her bowel habits in the form of alternating diarrhoea and constipation. She also noted some rectal bleeding. Flexible sigmoidoscopy revealed a 1.5 cm polyp 30 cm from the anus. The polyp was removed during the sigmoidoscopy by electrocautery and sent for histological examination. The polyp was a tubular adenoma with mild dyspl...

Outcome Measures: Number of life-years gained compared with no screening and number of colonoscopies and noncolonoscopy tests required. Results of Base-Case Analysis: Beginning screening at age 50 years was consistently better than at age 60. Decreasing the stop age from 85 to 75 years decreased life-years gained by 1% to 4%, whereas colonoscopy use decreased by 4% to 15%. Assuming equally high...

One hundred and seventy six men with histories of anal intercourse were studied to determine if there was a correlation between the clinical features, cytological findings in the mucosal secretions, and the histological appearance of the rectal mucosa. The presence or absence of gastrointestinal symptoms did not differentiate between patients with and without proctitis. Sigmoidoscopy was normal...

The authors review the place of faecal occult blood testing, sigmoidoscopy and total colonoscopy in the screening of colorectal cancer. Strategy in high risk patients is also discussed.

BACKGROUND The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends against routine screening for colorectal cancer (CRC) in adequately screened persons older than 75 years but does not address the appropriateness of screening in elderly persons without previous screening. OBJECTIVE To determine at what ages CRC screening should be considered in unscreened elderly persons and to determine which tes...