• María Elena Martínez, Patricia Thompson, Karen Messer, Erin L Ashbeck, David A Lieberman, John A Baron, Dennis J Ahnen, Douglas J Robertson, Elizabeth T Jacobs, E Robert Greenberg, Amanda J Cross, and Wendy Atkin.
• Moores Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego, 3855 Health Sciences Drive 0901, La Jolla, CA 92093-0901, USA. e8martinez@ucsd.edu
• Ann. Intern. Med. 2012 Dec 18; 157 (12): 856864856-64.

BackgroundGuidelines from the United Kingdom and the United States on risk stratification after polypectomy differ, as do recommended surveillance intervals.ObjectiveTo compare risk for advanced colorectal neoplasia at 1-year colonoscopy among patients cross-classified by U.S. and U.K. surveillance guidelines.DesignPooled analysis of 4 prospective studies between 1984 and 1998.SettingAcademic and private clinics in the United States.Patients3226 postpolypectomy patients with 6- to 18-month follow-up colonoscopy.MeasurementsRates of advanced neoplasia (an adenoma ≥1 cm, high-grade dysplasia, >25% villous architecture, or invasive cancer) at 1 year, compared across U.S. and U.K. risk categories.ResultsAdvanced neoplasia was detected 1 year after polypectomy in 3.8% (95% CI, 2.7% to 4.9%) of lower-risk patients and 11.2% (CI, 9.8% to 12.6%) of higher-risk patients by U.S. criteria. According to U.K. criteria, 4.4% (CI, 3.3% to 5.4%) of low-risk patients, 9.9% (CI, 8.3% to 11.5%) of intermediate-risk patients, and 18.7% (CI, 14.8% to 22.5%) of high-risk patients presented with advanced neoplasia; U.K. high-risk patients comprised 12.1% of all patients. All U.S. lower-risk patients were low-risk by U.K. criteria; however, more patients were classified as low-risk, because the U.K. guidelines do not consider histologic features. Higher-risk U.S. patients were distributed across the 3 U.K. categories. Among all patients with advanced neoplasia, 26.3% were reclassified by the U.K. criteria to a higher-risk category and 7.0% to a lower-risk category, with a net 19.0% benefiting from detection 2 years earlier. Overall, substitution of U.K. for U.S. guidelines resulted in an estimated 0.03 additional colonoscopy every 5 years per patient.LimitationsPatients were enrolled 15 to 20 years ago, and quality measures for colonoscopy were unavailable. Patients lacking follow-up colonoscopy or with surveillance colonoscopy after 6 to 18 months and those with cancer or insufficient baseline adenoma characteristics were excluded (2076 of 5302).ConclusionApplication of the U.K. guidelines in the United States could identify a subset of high-risk patients who may warrant a 1-year clearing colonoscopy without substantially increasing rates of colonoscopy.Primary Funding SourceEuropean Union Public Health Programme.

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