A study, published in Deutsches Ärzteblatt, examined complication rates after patients underwent a colonoscopy screening.
Nadine Zwink, PhD, of the Heidelberg, Germany-based German Cancer Research Center, and colleagues included 5,252 patients in the study. The patients all underwent a screening colonoscopy between 2010 and 2013. Researchers followed up three months after the screening colonoscopy. The patients completed questionnaires and had any reported complications validated.
Here's what you should know:
1. Of the total patients, there were 16 cases of physician-confirmed bleeding and four cases of physician-confirmed perforation four weeks after the colonoscopy.
2. Researchers said five patients were hospitalized for bleeding and two for perforation.
3. Three of the participants died within three months of their colonoscopy, but the colonoscopy was not related to the cause of death.
Researchers concluded, "We found the risk of complications of screening colonoscopy to be low, even when taking into account a potential delay of up to four weeks."