Physician adherence to societal guidelines following colonoscopy with polypectomy

Area of Science:

• Gastroenterology
• Oncology
• Public Health

Background:

• Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a leading cause of death in Western countries.
• Polypectomy effectively reduces CRC incidence and mortality.
• Current surveillance guidelines post-polypectomy rely on polyp features.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the accuracy of current post-polypectomy surveillance recommendations.
• To evaluate if an active intervention improves recommendation accuracy and guideline consistency.

Main Methods:

• Prospective collection of polypectomy reports from two centers over three months.
• Intervention included results presentation, guideline re-affirmation, and a dedicated electronic reporting form.
• Second prospective data collection after the intervention.

Main Results:

• Surveillance recommendation rates increased from 76% to 85% post-intervention (P=0.003).
• Guideline-consistent recommendations rose from 65% to 78% (P=0.001).

Conclusions:

• Intervention significantly boosted follow-up recommendations after polypectomy.
• Re-affirming guidelines and using a dedicated platform improved recommendation consistency.