Abstract

OTERO, William; RODRIGUEZ, Hernando  and  GOMEZ, Martín. Appropriateness of colonoscopy in two gastroenterology units Bogotá, Colombia. Rev Col Gastroenterol [online]. 2008, vol.23, n.2, pp.101-113. ISSN 0120-9957.

Introduction. The health system has finite resources for colonoscopies so its appropriateness use, decreases costs and waiting lists. It also allows patients to go through really appropriate procedure. The guidelines of the American Society of gastrointestinal endoscopy ASGE is used to assess the appropriateness of colonoscopy. With this paper we want to know the appropriateness use of colonoscopies performed in two gastroenterology units, performance of different health professionals and assess the probability of finding relevant endoscopic diagnosis. Materials and methods. It is a prospective study in two gastroenterology units in 2007. All diagnostic colonoscopies were included. We analyze the appropriateness use of colonoscopy using the guidelines ASGE 2000. Results. We collected 516 colonoscopies between the two gastroenterology units. The global appropriateness was 52.5%. The appropriateness of colonoscopy for the specialists was 71.1%, and for the primary care physician was 35.9%. There was association between the application by the gastroenterologist and appropriate colonoscopy. Relevant endoscopic diagnosis was more frequent in appropriate colonoscopy. Conclusion. The appropriateness of these colonoscopies was below international standards. The worst performance was for the primary care physician. The ASGE guidelines appears as a good tool for decreasing cost and waiting lists. It also finds more relevant endoscopic diagnosis. The disclosure of the guidelines among physicians appears to be a cost effective strategy.

Keywords : Indications; colonoscopy; appropriateness.

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