Physicians detect significantly more polyps during colonoscopies when an anesthesiologist is present, according to data from more than 4.5 million index colonoscopies reported in Internal Medicine News.
The findings were presented at the annual Digestive Disease Week. According to the report, the use of an anesthesiologist during colonoscopy has previously been associated with greater patient and provider satisfaction, but few studies existed on the diagnostic impact of an anesthesiologist.
In the study, Brooks D. Cash, MD, of the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., and his colleagues reviewed data from 4,539,547 index colonoscopies performed between 2001 and 2010. Coding data showed that approximately one-third of the colonoscopies involved an anesthesiologist.
According to the report, procedures with an anesthesiologist present had a polyp detective rate of 37.7 percent, compared with 37 percent in procedures without an anesthesiologist present. The difference was statistically significant due to the large number of colonoscopies studied.
Significantly more patients were diagnosed with colorectal cancer within three years of the index colonoscopy when an anesthesiologist was present.
Read the Internal Medicine News report on polyp detection.
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The findings were presented at the annual Digestive Disease Week. According to the report, the use of an anesthesiologist during colonoscopy has previously been associated with greater patient and provider satisfaction, but few studies existed on the diagnostic impact of an anesthesiologist.
In the study, Brooks D. Cash, MD, of the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., and his colleagues reviewed data from 4,539,547 index colonoscopies performed between 2001 and 2010. Coding data showed that approximately one-third of the colonoscopies involved an anesthesiologist.
According to the report, procedures with an anesthesiologist present had a polyp detective rate of 37.7 percent, compared with 37 percent in procedures without an anesthesiologist present. The difference was statistically significant due to the large number of colonoscopies studied.
Significantly more patients were diagnosed with colorectal cancer within three years of the index colonoscopy when an anesthesiologist was present.
Read the Internal Medicine News report on polyp detection.
Related Articles on Anesthesia:
Parents More Likely to Quit Smoking if Child Undergoes Surgery
Tennessee Anesthesia Company Affected by Data Breach Involving 1,500 Patients
ASA Joins 250 Groups Opposing the Independent Payment Advisory Board