Dear colleagues,
Colonoscopy is the bread and butter of endoscopy. Multidisciplinary updates continue to support screening colonoscopy in reducing the risk of developing colorectal cancer. But there has been debate about the best uses of resources, especially with increased recognition of colorectal cancer (CRC) in younger patients, and successive guidelines lengthening the intervals for most surveillance colonoscopy.
In particular, when do we feel comfortable recommending cessation of surveillance colonoscopy especially in those who are 75-85 years old? Routine colonoscopy remains a very low-risk procedure even in older patients with multiple comorbidities.
Dr. Gyanprakash A. Ketwaroo
In this issue of Perspectives, Dr. Petr Protiva and Dr. Mariam Naveed address this issue and provide differing perspectives on approaching surveillance colonoscopy in the elderly.
We welcome your thoughts on this issue on Twitter at @AGA_GIHN.
Gyanprakash A. Ketwaroo, MD, MSc, is associate professor of medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Conn., and chief of endoscopy at West Haven (Conn.) VA Medical Center. He is an associate editor for GI & Hepatology News.
