Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34646695›Full record

ArticleCureus2021

Routine Endoscopy After Acute Sigmoid Diverticulitis: Would a Sigmoidoscopy be Sufficient?

Enda Hannan, Tim Harding, William Duggan, Conor Brosnan, Donal Maguire

Open access · diamondAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Cureus, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
0.6field-weighted citation impact, top 31% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Enda HannanGeneral Surgery, St Michael's Hospital, Dublin, IRL.
Tim HardingGeneral Surgery, St Michael's Hospital, Dublin, IRL.
William DugganGeneral Surgery, St Michael's Hospital, Dublin, IRL.
Conor BrosnanGeneral Surgery, St Michael's Hospital, Dublin, IRL.
Donal MaguireGeneral Surgery, St Michael's Hospital, Dublin, IRL.
St Michael’s Hospital · IE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCurrent guidelines suggest that patients should undergo colonoscopy after CT confirmed acute diverticulitis to outrule colorectal cancer (CRC). The aim of this study was to determine if flexible sigmoidoscopy (FS) could be a viable alternative to full colonoscopy following acute sigmoid diverticulitis.

methodsA retrospective study of 271 patients was performed who were diagnosed with acute sigmoid diverticulitis by CT and subsequently underwent full colonoscopy. Medical records, CT reports, endoscopy reports, and histopathological reports were reviewed.

resultsSigmoid diverticulosis was confirmed on colonoscopy in all patients. No colorectal malignancies were detected. Adenomatous polyps were found in 16 (5.9%) patients, of which three had polyps detected beyond the sigmoid colon. The overall proportion of abnormalities found beyond the sigmoid colon was 1.1% (n=3).

conclusionThe detection of CRC cancer in patients undergoing full colonoscopy following an episode of acute sigmoid diverticulitis is rare. Despite this, current guidelines still advocate for endoscopy due to the potentially serious consequences of a missed malignancy. However, given that the area of concern in these cases is the sigmoid colon, FS may be a feasible means of outruling malignancy in the absence of red flag features that would necessitate a full colonoscopy. Our results support this approach, with no CRC detected and a polyp detection rate equivalent to that of the general population. This offers numerous advantages to a full colonoscopy for the patient and health service by being a quicker, cheaper, safer procedure without the need for full bowel preparation or IV sedation.

Indexed as

colonoscopycolorectal cancerdiverticulitissigmoid diverticulitissigmoidoscopy

Identifiers

PMID34646695
PMCPMC8486147
OpenAlexW3197198064

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.