Flexible sigmoidoscopic findings in patients with fresh rectal bleeding

ABSTRACT

Flexible sigmoidoscopy can diagnose majority of pathologies in patients with rectal bleeding and is less demanding than colonoscopy. Frequency of different findings in patients with rectal bleeding on flexible sigmoidoscopy was considered. Out of a total of 215 patients, 133 [61.9%] were males and 82 [38.1%] were females. The most common findings were hemorrhoids in 49 patients [22.8%] and polyps in 37 [17.2%] patients. The mean duration of bleeding was 57.4 +51.8 months. Seventeen [7.1%] were found to have malignancy on sigmoidoscopic biopsy. Flexible sigmoidoscopy was able to determine the cause of bleeding in majority of patients with rectal bleeding