A study published in Gastroenterology Endoscopy examined how urgent colonoscopies affect clinical outcomes in patients hospitalized for lower GI bleeding.
Researchers performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of 12 studies that compared 10,172 patients receiving urgent colonoscopies and 14,224 patients receiving elective colonoscopies. They pooled rates for specific outcomes and rate ratios with comparison groups.
Here's what they found.
1. Urgent colonoscopies led to an increased use of endoscopic therapeutic intervention over elective procedures.
2. There was no difference in bleeding source localization, adverse events, re-bleeding rates, transfusion requirements or mortality between the two groups.
The researchers concluded that although urgent colonoscopies are safe and well tolerated, there is no evidence the procedure alters clinical outcomes.