CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne
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To make recommendations on the effectiveness of screening for colorectal cancer in asymptomatic patients over 40 years of age. ⋯ There is evidence that annual fecal occult blood testing with the use of the rehydrated Hemoccult test has a small but significant benefit in lowering the rate of death from cancer after more than 10 years of screening; however, the high rate of false-positive results (9.8%) and the poor sensitivity of annual (49%) and biennial (38%) screening make this a poor method for detecting colorectal cancer. There is fair evidence that screening with sigmoidoscopy may improve survival rates; however, this may be due to volunteer bias. The high cost of and poor compliance with colonoscopic screening make this an unfeasible strategy.
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To survey adult medical and surgical patients about their concerns and satisfaction with their care in Canadian hospitals. ⋯ The self-reported patient data from this survey suggest that hospital routines, medications, tests, pain management and discharge planning are areas of communication to target in future quality-improvement efforts in Canadian hospitals.