Benchmarks are obsolete due to the increased use of high-definition imaging tools during colonoscopies
A recent study by the Mayo Clinic found that national guidelines pertaining to the average number of polyps routinely detected during colonoscopy may be too low.
For the study, researchers determined the adenoma detection rate (ADR) among 2400 individuals whose screening colonoscopy involved the use of high-definition imaging tools. ADR is the percentage of patients with at least 1 adenoma identified during screening. For patients with an average colorectal cancer risk, existing ADR standards are set at 15% in women and 25% in men. Yet the Mayo Clinic study, with the use of high-definition imaging tools, resulted in an ADR of 25% in women and 41% in men.
Michael Wallace, MD, MPH, chief of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Mayo Clinic in Florida said, “Our study suggests that national benchmarks may be too low given our increasing ability to find polyps using the high-definition colonoscopy tools that a majority of physicians use today.”
The study, which is part of the Endoscopic Quality Improvement Program (EQUIP) clinical trial, was published online in Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.
Source: Mayo Clinic.