[Rectoscopy and Hemoccult-II as initial diagnosis. A procedure in patients with symptoms of irritable colon]

The diagnostic accuracy for colorectal cancer (CRC) of rigid sigmoidoscopy and faecal occult blood test (Hemoccult-II) (H-II) was investigated in patients with irritable bowel syndrome in general practice in a three year period and the results were compared with those of the previous three years, where rigid sigmoidoscopy and double contrast barium enema (DCBE) were the initial preferred examinations. Colonoscopy was recommended in patients with positive H-II, but also in patients with repeated negative H-II within three months, provided that the symptoms persisted. CRC was detected in 141 of 630 patients with positive H-II and in 52 of 8697 with negative H-II. The number of CRC's in the two study periods was similar, in spite of a pronounced reduction in DCBE's from 12,196 to 5656 and a small increase in colonoscopies from 3053 to 4127. It was concluded that the new strategy was no worse than the previous one and the major savings in DCBE's could be used to exchange the rigid sigmoidoscopy with a 60 cm flexible sigmoidoscopy, increasing diagnostic accuracy, shortening delay of diagnosis and removing more adenomas, which eventually may reduce the future incidence of CRC and thereby the mortality from CRC.