Colonoscopy adverse events: are we getting the full picture?

Adverse events after colonoscopy in a randomised colorectal cancer screening trial

OBJECTIVE

Colonoscopy-related adverse events increase the burden of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. This cross-sectional study evaluates adverse events during and after colonoscopy in a large, randomised CRC screening trial in Norway comparing sigmoidoscopy to immunochemical testing for faecal blood.

METHODS

We included all individuals who underwent colonoscopy at two screening centres between 2012 and 2020. From medical records, we retrieved data on adverse events during and within 30 days after colonoscopy and classified them according to the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy lexicon for endoscopic adverse events. Multivariable logistic regression models were fitted to identify risk factors for adverse events.

RESULTS

Of the 10 244 included individuals, 242 (2.4%) had at least one adverse event that was possibly, probably, or definitively related to the colonoscopy. 188 (1.8%) had mild adverse events, 50 (0.49%) had moderate, 3 (0.03%) had severe, and 1 had a fatal adverse event. The most frequent adverse events were lower gastrointestinal bleeding (0.86%), abdominal pain (0.48%), vasovagal reaction (0.39%), postpolypectomy syndrome (0.20%), and perforation (0.08%). 23 (0.22%) individuals had non-gastrointestinal adverse events. Risk factors associated with adverse events were older age, female sex, screening centre, anticoagulant therapy, number of polypectomies, size of lesion removed, presence of proximal lesion, and adenocarcinoma. Adverse event rates per endoscopist ranged from 0% to 4.9%.

CONCLUSION

Adverse events after colonoscopy of screening positives occurred in about 2 out of 100 procedures. Three-quarters of events were mild. Awareness of risk factors may help endoscopists to mitigate the risk.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

NCT01538550.

How to implement adverse events as a quality indicator in gastrointestinal endoscopy

Quality improvement through the registration of endoscopy-related adverse events (AEs) has been recognized by major international endoscopy societies as an important quality indicator. The theory behind this is easier to approve than its implementation in daily practice. The results of many valuable attempts have been published in the literature, mainly highlighting the diverse hurdles trying to capture events related to endoscopy and the sedation used for endoscopic procedures. The current review discusses the difficulties encountered attempting to register AEs and incidents related to endoscopic procedures. Government-driven and financed health-care databases with automated coupling of specific data seem the only efficient way to implement endoscopy-related AEs and outcomes on a prospective and complete basis. This will not only allow continuous confidential feedback to endoscopists in relation to the pooled national benchmark data, but also follow-up in time through data-driven credentialing aiming to progressively optimize these benchmark data.

The risk of bleeding and perforation from sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy in colorectal cancer screening: A systematic review and meta-analyses

INTRODUCTION

Physical harm from Colorectal Cancer Screening tends to be inadequately measured and reported in clinical trials. Also, studies of ongoing Colorectal Cancer Screening programs have found more frequent and severe physical harm from screening procedures, e.g., bleeding and perforation, than reported in previous trials. Therefore, the objectives of the study were to systematically review the evidence on the risk of bleeding and perforation in Colorectal Cancer Screening.

DESIGN

Systematic review with descriptive statistics and random-effects meta-analyses.

METHODS

We systematically searched five databases for studies investigating physical harms related to Colorectal Cancer Screening. We assessed the internal and the external validity using the ROBINS-I tool and the GRADE approach. Harm estimates was calculated using mixed Poisson regression models in random-effect meta-analyses.

RESULTS

We included 89 studies. Reporting and measurement of harms was inadequate in most studies. In effect, the risk of bias was critical in 97.3% and serious in 98.3% of studies. All GRADE ratings were very low. Based on severe findings with not-critical risk of bias and 30 days follow-up, the risk of bleedings per 100,000 people screened were 8 [2;24] for sigmoidoscopy, 229 [129;408] for colonoscopy following fecal immunochemical test, 68 [39;118] for once-only colonoscopy, and 698 [443;1045] for colonoscopy following any screening tests. The risk of perforations was 88 [56;138] for colonoscopy following fecal immunochemical test and 53 [25;112] for once-only colonoscopy. There were no findings within the subcategory severe perforation with long-term follow-up for colonoscopy following any screening tests and sigmoidoscopy.

DISCUSSION

Harm estimates varied widely across studies, reporting and measurement of harms was mostly inadequate, and the risk of bias and GRADE ratings were very poor, collectively leading to underestimation of harm. In effect, we consider our estimates of perforation and bleeding as conservative, highlighting the need for better reporting and measurement in future studies.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

PROSPERO registration number: CRD42017058844.

Visualization analysis of research on pre-colonoscopy bowel preparation

BACKGROUND

Bowel preparation is an essential step before colonoscopy, and its research topics are relatively scattered. Understanding the research status and development trend of bowel preparation is of great value for disease research and actual clinical work. However, there is currently a lack of research in this field in the form of bibliometrics.

AIM

To understand the research hotspots and development trends of bowel preparation during colonoscopy around the world.

METHODS

The literature about the topics of bowel preparation was retrieved from the CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, China Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), and Web of Science core datasets from the inception of the database to September 10, 2022. CiteSpace 6.1. R3 was used to visually analyze the annual number of publications, countries, institutions, authors, keywords, clusters, and co-citation literature.

RESULTS

A total of 2340 Chinese and 2574 English publications were included, and the number of annual publications showed an increasing trend from year to year. The author with the largest number of publications worldwide was Hassan Cesare, and the most productive countries included USA, Korea, UK, Italy, and China. Meng Xiao-Fen, Zhang Yuan-Yuan, and Niu Mei-E were the China's most prolific authors. The First Affiliated Hospital of Suzhou University, the General Hospital of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, and the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an University were the most prolific institutions. Research hotspots focused on the quality of bowel preparation, the design of bowel preparation programs, and special groups for bowel preparation.

CONCLUSION

Studies related to bowel preparation have certain foundations, and China's research can follow international hotspots, but cooperation among countries still needs to be strengthened. We should expand the research output related to bowel preparation based on a broader population and more suitable for the development of the era of big data, to provide higher quality research evidence for clinical practice.

Fatal outcomes of endoscopy: an analysis from the coroner's point of view

Background and study aims  This study was designed to provide a profound analysis of fatalities associated with endoscopic procedures. Methods  Protocols of all autopsies performed within 20 years in a large Department of Forensic Medicine were retrospectively analyzed to identify all fatalities directly related to an endoscopic procedure. Data were further specified focusing on the type of endoscopy and the final cause of death. Results  Of 22,615 autopsies performed between January 2000 and September 2019, 86 deaths were identified as complications of an endoscopic procedure. The average age of these 86 patients was 70.9 years (66.4 (range, 26-89) in males (n = 35) and 74.1 years (range, 22-94) in females (n = 51)). Endoscopic procedures included 29 endoscopic retrograde cholangeopancreatographies (ERCPs), 27 colonoscopies, 18 percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube placements, six gastroscopies, two upper endosopic ultrasonographies, and four transesophageal echocardiographies. ERCPs, colonoscopy and PEG procedures together accounted for 74 of 86 (86 %) endoscopy-related deaths. Focusing on the single procedures, post-ERCP pancreatitis (14/29, 48 %), colonoscopy-associated perforation (24/27, 89 %), and peritonitis after PEG placement (16/18, 88 %) were the most common causes of death. Conclusions  Even in the thought-to-be-safe and screening endoscopic procedures fatalities do occur. This study gives an overview of endoscopy-related fatalities, stressing the role of ERCP, colonoscopy, and PEG.

Effects of Acupuncture on Adverse Events in Colonoscopy: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

INTRODUCTION

Acupuncture has gradually penetrated into many disciplines in clinical medicine, such as surgery, anesthesia, and outpatient examinations. Although a number of clinical trials have investigated the effects of acupuncture on colonoscopy, the results were inconsistent. In this meta-analysis, we analyzed the effects of acupuncture on colonoscopy to provide evidence for subsequent research and clinical application of acupuncture in colonoscopy.

METHODS

This meta-analysis was performed using Review Manager version 5.4 and Stata version 16 software. The primary outcome was the incidence of adverse events, and the secondary outcomes included patients' anxiety score before colonoscopy, time to insert the colonoscope, total detection time, propofol consumption, patients' pain score, and patient satisfaction rate.

RESULTS

The results showed that the incidence of adverse events (odds ratio [OR] 0.27, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.16-0.43, P = 0.00, I² = 25%), patients' pain score (mean difference [MD] - 1.03, 95% CI - 1.45 to - 0.62, P = 0.00, I² = 94%), and time to insert the colonoscope (MD = - 2.54, 95% CI - 4.96 to - 0.13, P = 0.04, I² = 0%) were significantly lower in the treatment group than in the control group. Compared with the control group, the satisfaction rate of patients (OR 2.53, 95% CI 1.56-4.10, P = 0.00, I² = 47%) in the treatment group was significantly improved. There was no significant between-group difference in patients' anxiety score, the total detection time, and propofol dosage.

CONCLUSIONS

During colonoscopy, acupuncture can significantly reduce the incidence of adverse events, relieve patients' pain, and improve patient satisfaction.

REGISTRATION

PROSPERO registration number CRD42022324428.

Adverse Events Associated with Routine Colonoscopy in Patients with End-Stage Renal Disease

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Although colonoscopy has been widely performed in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), studies on the safety of routine colonoscopy, including bowel preparation and sedation, in these patients are limited. This study aimed to investigate the safety of colonoscopy in patients with ESRD who underwent peritoneal dialysis (PD) or hemodialysis (HD).

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed 538 patients with ESRD who underwent colonoscopy between 2010 and 2020. We compared the incidence of adverse events (AEs) between the ESRD group and a propensity score-matched control group of healthy adults. Cardiovascular/pulmonary and procedure-related AEs were analyzed. We also compared the rates of AEs between patients who underwent PD or HD.

RESULTS

The overall rate of AEs was 5.7% in patients with ESRD, which was significantly higher than that in healthy adults (0.6%, P < 0.001). All AEs were cardiovascular/pulmonary in nature, but no perforation or bleeding occurred. Most AEs were not severe and resolved with medical treatment. The incidence of AEs was higher in the HD group than in the PD group, but the difference was not significant (6.1% vs. 3.5%, respectively, P = 0.451). In the HD group, patients with AEs were significantly older than those without AEs (P = 0.009).

CONCLUSIONS

The rate of colonoscopy-related AEs in patients with ESRD on dialysis was higher than that in healthy adults, but most AEs were not severe. Routine colonoscopy may be safely performed in patients with ESRD regardless of the method of dialysis, but more carefully in older patients on HD.

Endoscopic follow-up of mucosal defect after hot versus cold snare polypectomy in animal model

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Cold snare polypectomy (CSP) has received increasing attention in recent years, but few studies have assessed defect repair after polypectomy. Therefore, we compared the repair of mucosal defect after CSP and hot snare polypectomy (HSP) in a rabbit model.

METHODS

Resection of normal colonic mucosa using both HSP and CSP were performed in 40 male New Zealand white rabbits by an experienced endoscopist. Follow-up colonoscopy was performed after 7 and 15 days by another endoscopist. We assessed mucosal defect repair, status of healing, scar formation, and intraoperative or delayed complications (including perforation and bleeding).

RESULTS

Eight animals died of intraoperative or delayed perforation; follow-up colonoscopy was performed in 32 animals. On follow-up colonoscopy at 7 days after operation, 78.1% cases in the CSP group showed healing of mucosal defect compared with none in the HSP group (P < 0.001); mucosal repair score in the CSP group was significantly higher than HSP group (P < 0.001). On follow-up colonoscopy at 15 days, mucosal defect after CSP had completely healed in all cases (100%) versus 96.9% after HSP (P = 0.313). Among these healed defects, scar formation was observed in 2 of 32 cases in the CSP group compared with 19 of 31 in the HSP group (P < 0.001). Intraoperative perforation rate was significantly higher in the HSP group (15% vs 2.5%; P = 0.048).

CONCLUSIONS

Mucosal defect repair after CSP is quicker compared with HSP and is more likely to result in scarless healing. HSP is more likely to cause perforation in the thin colon walls.

Digestive perforations related to endoscopy procedures: a local management charter based on local evidence and experts' opinion

Background and study aims  Perforations are a known adverse event of endoscopy procedures; a proposal for appropriate management should be available in each center as recommended by the European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. The objective of this study was to establish a charter for the management of endoscopic perforations, based on local evidence. Patients and methods  Patients were included if they experienced partial or complete perforation during an endoscopic procedure between 2008 and 2018 (retrospectively until 2016, then prospectively). Perforations (size, location, closure) and management (imagery, antibiotics, surgery) were analyzed. Using these results, a panel of experts was asked to propose a consensual management charter. Results  A total of 105 patients were included. Perforations occurred mainly during therapeutic procedures (91, 86.7%). Of the perforations, 78 (74.3 %) were diagnosed immediately and managed during the procedure; 69 of 78 (88.5 %) were successfully closed. Closures were more effective during therapeutic procedures (60 of 66, 90.9 %) than during diagnostic procedures (9 of 12, 75.0 %, P  = 0.06). Endoscopic closure was effective for 37 of 38 perforations (97.4 %) < 0.5 cm, and for 26 of 34 perforations (76.5 %) ≥ 0.5 cm ( P  < 0.05). For perforations < 0.5 cm, systematic computed tomography (CT) scan, antibiotics, or surgical evaluation did not improve the outcome. Four of 105 deaths (3.8 %) occurred after perforation, one of which was attributable to the perforation itself. Conclusions  Detection and closure of perforations during endoscopic procedure had a better outcome compared to delayed perforations; perforations < 0.5 cm had a very good prognosis and CT scan, surgeon evaluation, or antibiotics are probably not necessary when the endoscopic closure is confidently performed. This work led to proposal of a local management charter.

Colonoscopy: Preparation and Potential Complications

Colonoscopy is a fairly common test that serves both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. It has been considered the gold standard in colorectal cancer screening for several years. Due to the nature of the examination, various types of complications may occur. The purpose of this analysis is to describe the various complications related to the period of preparation for colonoscopy among hospitalized patients, including life-threatening ones, in order to know how to avoid complications while preparing for a colonoscopy. We analyzed the nursing and medical reports of 9962 patients who were prepared for colonoscopy between 2005 and 2016. The frequency of various side effects associated with intensive bowel cleansing prior to colonoscopy was assessed. In justified cases, additional medical data were collected from patients, their families or from other doctors providing advice to patients after complications. Out of 9962 patients prepared for colonoscopy, 180 procedures were discontinued due to complications and side effects, and in these cases no colonoscopy was performed. The most common complications were: vomiting; epistaxis; loss of consciousness with head injury; abdominal pain; acute diarrhea; symptoms of choking; heart rhythm disturbances; dyspnea; fractures of limbs and hands; acute coronary syndrome; hypotension; hypertension; cerebral ischemia; severe blood glucose fluctuations; increased muscle contraction and allergic reactions. In addition to the documentation of our own research, several works of other research groups were also analyzed. Currently, the literature does not provide data on the frequency and type of complications in the preparation period for colonoscopy. The advantage of our work is the awareness of the possibility of serious complications and postulating the necessary identification of threats. Individualization of the recommended procedures and increased supervision of patients undergoing bowel cleansing procedure, we hope, will reduce the occurrence of complications and side effects.