Overuse and Underuse of Surveillance Colonoscopy

Previous surveys, posing hypothetical scenarios, have shown that primary care physicians, surgeons, and gastroenterologists would overuse postpolypectomy surveillance colonoscopy, despite existing guidelines (JW Gastroenterol Feb 2 2007 and JW Gastroenterol Sep 15 2004). In actual practice, what factors drive overuse of colonoscopy? Which patients are more or less likely to undergo surveillance colonoscopy, and what is the yield of this surveillance?

To find out, investigators followed 1297 patients for a mean 5.9 years after the end of their participation in the Polyp Prevention Trial (PPT). In the 4-year, multicenter, randomized, controlled, dietary intervention trial, investigators recruited patients who had undergone polypectomy within 6…