What Is the Optimal Interval for Screening Colonoscopy?

U.S. guidelines generally recommend a 10-year interval after a normal initial screening colonoscopy, but the optimal interval is uncertain. In this study, researchers examined the prevalence of abnormalities among employees of a company that offered routine colonoscopic screening at 5-year intervals.

A total of 2436 asymptomatic people (age, ≥50) had no adenomas on first-time screening colonoscopy; 1256 of them returned for rescreening at 5 years. One or more neoplastic polyps were found in 201 (16%) of these rescreened people, but only 16 (1.3%) had advanced neoplasms (tubular adenomas ≥1 cm, polyps with a villous component, or polyps with high-grade dysplasia).