Outcome and safety analysis of colonoscopy in 1 249 patients aged 80 years and over / 中华老年医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the value and safety of colonoscopy in patients aged 80 years and over.Methods Clinical and endoscopic data of 1 249 patients aged 80 years and over collected from December 2005 to December 2015 at PLA army General Hospital were analyzed retrospectively.Results The average age was 83.03 years.Reasons for receiving colonoscopy included constipation with abdominal distension(19.38 ％)and hematochezia(10.57％).The completion rate of colonoscopy for the entire length was 94.50 ％.There were no abnormal findings in 492 cases (39.39 ％).Colonic polyps (31.62 ％) and colorectal cancer (14.25 ％) were among the major lesions detected with colonoscopy.Colorectal neoplasms were found in 58.33％ of the 132 patients with hematochezia.The total complication rate from colonoscopy and treatment was 0.72％,with the complication rate from treatment at 1.32％.Conclusions Constipation with abdominal distension and hematoehezia are the main reasons for undergoing colonoscopy for very elderly patients.Colon polyps and colorectal cancer are common disorders in elderly patients over 80 years of age and people with hematochezia in this age group are at high risk of having colorectal cancer.Colonoscopy is a safe and effective procedure and an important examination method for very elderly patients with hematochezia.