Repeat Screening Colonoscopy Is Being Performed Too Often

Anecdotal evidence indicates that many endoscopists ignore the universal recommendation for screening colonoscopy at 10-year intervals and instead perform it at 5-year intervals. However, data on the incidence of overuse in the U.S. are lacking.

To estimate the rate of unnecessary repeat screening colonoscopies at 5 years, researchers selected a 5% national random sample of fee-for-service Medicare patients, identified those receiving screening colonoscopies (i.e., “baseline”) during a 2-year period, and evaluated the incidence of follow-up screening colonoscopies and their indications at 5 and 7 years.

Rates of repeat colonoscopy at 5 and 7 years were 43.3% and 59.5%, respectively, for all patients; 31.9% and 50.1% for those with negative re…