Second-Look Colonoscopies in FIT-Positive Patients

The prevalence of neoplastic lesions, including cancers, adenomas, and advanced adenomas, is increased in patients with positive results on fecal immunochemical tests (FITs). FIT-positive individuals undergo screening colonoscopy to detect and remove lesions; many of them require second-look procedures thereafter. In a study involving 1215 FIT-positive patients who underwent screening colonoscopy, researchers in the Netherlands examined the number of — and indications for — such follow-up colonoscopies.

One hundred five patients (8.6%) needed a second examination within 1 year, and 30 of them (2.5%) needed more than one (range, 2–9), for a total of 149 (12.3%) additional colonoscopies. Most often, repeat colonoscopy was done to assess comple…