• Khalil Ur Rehman, Muhammad Omar Qureshi, Nasir Khokhar, Farzana Shafqat, and Mohammad Salih.
• Department of Gastroenterology, Shifa International Hospital, Islamabad.
• J Coll Physicians Surg Pak. 2015 Jul 1; 25 (7): 478-81.

ObjectiveTo document the quality of colonoscopy practice and the pattern of colonic disease including polyp detection rate at Shifa International Hospital, Islamabad, Pakistan.Study DesignAn observational study.Place And Duration Of StudyShifa International Hospital, Islamabad, Pakistan, from May 2013 to June 2014.MethodologyThis retrospective study recorded demographics of patients, indications and quality indices of 505 colonoscopies performed during the study period. Preparation was done with low residue diet and polyethylene glycol. Conscious sedation was generally used. Quality indices studied were compared with guideline standard.ResultsOut of 505 colonoscopy patients, 305 were males and 200 were females. The indications for colonoscopic examination were lower gastrointestinal bleeding (26.5%, n=134), screening for colorectal cancer (14.1%, n=71), chronic diarrhea (12.9%, n=65), abdominal pain (10.9%, n=55), anemia (9.1%, n=46), constipation (7.3%, n=37), hematochezia and diarrhea (6.3%, n=32), altered bowel habits (5.1%, n=26), weight loss (3.6%, n=18), colonic thickening on CT scan (3.0%, n=15) and others (1.2%, n=6). Bowel preparation was adequate (in 92%, n=465) cases. Cecal intubation rate was 88.71% (n=448). Endoscopic diagnoses were hemorrhoids (36.2%, n=183), normal (22%, n=111), polyps (11.3%, n=57), ulcerative colitis (8.7%, n=44), cancer (4%, n=20), diverticulosis (3.4%, n=17), infective colitis (2.6%, n=13), intestinal TB (2.6%, n=13), non-specific colitis (2.2%, n=11), proctitis (1.8%, n=9) and others (5.3%, n=27).ConclusionThere is room for improvement in quality of colonoscopy, cecal intubation rate is slightly below the recommended standard and polyp detection rate is quite low however, it is not clear if the low rate of polyp detection is due to missed lesions or low population incidence. Time to reach caecum and withdrawal time should clearly be documented in the notes which can help to evaluate quality of the procedure in a better way.

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