Loading...
According to recent guidelines, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force considers annual fecal occult blood testing or fecal immunochemical testing to be acceptable alternatives to colonoscopy for initial colorectal cancer screening (NEJM JW Gen Med Aug 1 2016 and JAMA 2016; 315:2564). Many patients prefer the convenience of fecal testing, but the efficacy of this method depends on timely follow-up of positive tests by diagnostic colonoscopy. Recall for colonoscopy involves a complex interaction among multiple caregivers; in some observational studies, fewer than 50% of patients with positive fecal tests received timely diagnostic testing.
Investigators reviewed 23 controlled studies (7 randomized) of various patient-, provider-, and system-…