Open access colonoscopy in the training setting: which factors affect patient satisfaction and pain?

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIM

Patient satisfaction with colonoscopy is important for quality assurance; it may be affected by various factors, including patient characteristics, physician training level, and procedural or organizational features. We aimed to analyze how these factors influenced patient satisfaction and pain in an outpatient training setting.

METHODS

Consecutive patients for open access colonoscopy (OAC) were enrolled in a prospective, single-blinded, controlled study. Primary and secondary outcomes were satisfaction and pain scores with and without trainee participation. A multivariate analysis was designed to achieve an 80 % power with an alpha value of 0.05.

RESULTS

368 patients were enrolled. Satisfaction with the procedure was high (mean score 1.36; 1 = best to 5 = worst). In the multivariate analysis only waiting time in the endoscopy suite was significantly associated with lower satisfaction scores ( P = 0.024). Satisfaction was unaffected by patient factors (gender, American Society of Anesthesiologists' [ASA] score, anxiety, etc). Higher pain scores were associated with higher anxiety levels ( P = 0.02), female gender ( P = 0.02), longer procedure ( P< 0.001), and lower sedation levels ( P = 0.001); trainee involvement (49 % of procedures) did not adversely affect satisfaction or pain scores.

CONCLUSIONS

Patient satisfaction with OAC using sedation appears to depend primarily on organizational factors (waiting time beforehand). In contrast, pain is associated with patient characteristics (female gender, anxiety) and procedural factors (lower sedation, longer procedure). Trainee participation did not affect satisfaction or pain scores, a finding which may help to reassure patients undergoing OAC with trainee participation.

Intestinal perforation in a parastomal hernia by a migrated plastic biliary stent

Organ perforation is a well-described complication of plastic biliary stent placement [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10][1-10]. Most commonly, a stent will cause duodenal perforation while still in the area of the biliary system. This often occurs in the setting of a periampullary diverticulum. Less frequently, a perforation occurs as a result of stent migration into the distal lumenal gastrointestinal tract. These cases have involved a migrated stent impacting at the level of the ileum or a sigmoid colon diverticulum. A plastic biliary stent causing perforation inside an incarcerated small bowel hernia sac has been reported [10]. We describe the first reported case of a plastic biliary stent causing perforation inside a parastomal hernia.

Extrahepatic manifestations of infection with hepatitis C virus

Chronic hepatitis C is associated with, and may trigger or exacerbate, an extraordinary variety of extrahepatic manifestations. Most of these manifestations affect the skin, the most frequent and important of which are the leukocytoclastic vasculitis of MC type II and PCT. The former is an example of an autoimmune disorder triggered by HCV infection, whereas PCT is a skin disease caused by hepatic overproduction of uro- and 7-carboxyl porphyrins caused by increased oxidative stress in hepatocytes. Currently available effective therapies of CHC (IFN, ribavirin) may also trigger or exacerbate extrahepatic manifestations, especially including autoimmune thyroiditis, skin rashes, and hemolytic anemia.

Diffuse pancreatic fibrosis: an uncommon feature of multifocal idiopathic fibrosclerosis

Multifocal idiopathic fibrosclerosis (MIF) is a rare syndrome characterized by exuberant fibrosis involving diverse organ systems. MIF is manifest by varying combinations of the following conditions: mediastinal fibrosis, retroperitoneal fibrosis, orbital pseudotumor, Riedel's thyroiditis, and sclerosing cholangitis. Less common features of MIF include Dupuytren's contractures, lymphoid hyperplasia, Peyronie's disease, vasculitis, testicular fibrosis, and pachymeningitis. Fibrosis arising from the pancreas has been previously described in two patients with MIF. We report a 58-yr-old white man with MIF manifest as orbital pseudotumor, sclerosing cholangitis, lymph node hyperplasia, and diffuse pancreatic fibrosis.

Adult pancreatoblastoma: a case report and review of the literature

Pancreatoblastoma is an uncommon pediatric neoplasm with distinct acinar and squamoid cell differentiation. This tumor often contains neuroendocrine and/or mesenchymal components. Pancreatoblastoma is exceedingly rare in adults, with only eight cases described (Table 1). We report a 68-yr-old white female with adult pancreatoblastoma, the oldest patient, to date, diagnosed with this unusual malignancy.

Mixed cryoglobulinemia in chronic hepatitis C infection. A clinicopathologic analysis of 10 cases and review of recent literature

We present 10 cases of mixed cryoglobulinemia in patients infected with hepatitis C, including pertinent clinical, serologic, and pathological data. The findings attributable to MC appear to be similar in patients who are HCV-infected as in those with unknown HCV status. The prevalence of MC in HCV-infected patients appears to be lower in our region (13%) than in southern Europe (50-90%) although some of this difference is due to our requirement that patients included in our study have a cryocrit of at least 5%. In our patients, cryoglobulins were shown to be deposited in skin and kidney, but not in liver. The mechanisms by which HCV and MC are related remain uncertain. Although we and others have evidence for enrichment of HCV RNA in the cryoprecipitates of some patients, this was not always the case, and it is not yet clear that this finding is of fundamental pathogenic importance. Finally, it appears that some patients with HCV and MC may have a beneficial clinical response of vasculitic symptoms to therapy with alpha-interferon, as well as to glucocorticoids or other immunosuppressants. In our group, no predictors were apparent to distinguish responders from nonresponders before treatment. Similarly, the duration of response remains to be determined.

Treatment of granulating wounds with silastic foam dressings

We have examined the usefulness of a Silastic foam dressing in the management of open granulating wounds in 55 outpatients. It is an acceptable and comfortable dressing, which allows earlier discharge from hospital. The method of making the dressing, and the daily care of the wound are described. Improved wound care is achieved by providing two dressings, so that when one is in place the other is being thoroughly cleaned. This technique has been shown to reduce bacterial contamination of the wounds and to improve wound healing (p less than 0.02).

Hospital microbial environment: need for continual surveillance

In an epidemic of nosocomial infection, Pseudomonas cepacia emerged as a significant pathogen capable of causing severe infection. The epidemic was controlled by tracing and controlling the source of the infection, which proved to be "sterile" water and "in-use" dilution antiseptic. Problems of sterile water were controlled by regular maintenance of equipment and surveillance. Antiseptic problems were overcome by changing the type of antiseptic, and paying attention to correct concentration of "in-use" dilution. A four-year follow-up of the water supply shows no further problems. Further infectious episodes caused by P. cepacia have not been encountered.