Cecal intubation rates: data from the New Hampshire Colonoscopy Registry

Women and older or thinner patients have lower colonoscopy cecal intubation rates. We used data from the New Hampshire Colonoscopy Registry (NHCR) to examine the association between these and other endoscopist factors and trends of colonoscopy cecal intubation rates.

Our sample included patients ≥40 years from the NHCR with an adequate bowel preparation. We examined colonoscopy completion rates over quartiles (2004-2011, 2012-2014, 2015-2017, and 2018-2021) as stratified by men versus women and body mass index (BMI). In addition to these factors, we also adjusted for age and year of examination. Other variables of interest were specialty of the endoscopist and adenoma detection rates (ADRs).

Our sample included 143,095 individuals (52.5% women [n = 75,180]). Multivariable analysis showed that BMI <25 (odds ratio [OR], .87; 95% confidence interval [CI], .76-.99), obesity (BMI ≥30) (OR, .88; 95% CI, .77-.99), and older age (per year) (OR, .96; 95% CI, .96-.97) were associated with a decreased likelihood of having a complete colonoscopy. Men were more likely than women to have a higher completion rate (OR, 1.46; 95% CI, 1.30-1.63). Gastroenterology specialty (OR, 1.78; 95% CI, 1.56-2.03) and an ADR ≥25% (OR, 2.01; 95% CI, 1.79-2.26) were associated with an increased likelihood of cecal intubation. These endoscopist-related factors were also observed to be predictive of cecal intubation in a subset of thin (BMI <25) women. Men and obese patients (BMI ≥30) were more likely to have incomplete examinations halted in the right-sided versus left-sided colon.

Even after adjusting for endoscopist factors, our study demonstrated that older or female patients and those with a BMI <25 or ≥30 had lower colonoscopy completion rates. Our data also suggest that colonoscopies performed in thin women were more likely to be completed if they were performed by a gastroenterologist as opposed to a nongastroenterologist.