The findings, which have implications for endoscopist scheduling, were presented at Digestive Disease Week 2010, the annual meeting of the American Gastroenterological Association.
Data from 3,846 colonoscopies performed at Mayo Clinic during 2008 were examined in the study, according to the release. After excluding factors known to influence polyp detection, such as poor bowel preparation and involvement of fellows in training in the procedures, researchers compared polyp detection rates by daily shifts.
Researchers were curious to examine whether shorter work shifts positively influenced polyp detection rate, even in settings that require a minimum withdrawal time.
According to the release, Mayo Clinic schedules outpatient colonoscopies during three three-hour shifts each weekday — a morning shift, 7:30-10:30 a.m.; a midday shift, 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.; and an afternoon shift, 1:30-4:30 p.m. Researchers found the morning shift polyp detection rate was 39.1 percent, midday was 44.6 percent and afternoon was 38.9 percent. The average time a colon was examined during scope withdrawal remained constant throughout the day at just over eight minutes, with only a five-second variation between the shifts with the longest and shortest average times, according to the release.
There was no evidence that revealed why the polyp detection rate was highest during Mayo’s midday shift, and more research was needed to determine the cause, according to the release.
According to Dawn Francis, MD, MHS, a gastroenterologist at Mayo Clinic and lead researcher, these findings differ from similar studies done at other healthcare facilities that employ traditional half-day shifts, which sees a decrease in polyp detection rates later in the day often attributed to endoscopist fatigue.
Read the Mayo report on shorter endoscopist work shifts.
