Gut Check on Gastroenterology Archive

December 29th, 2008

What Should We Do with Barrett’s: Ignore It or Fry it?

The answer to the question “What to do with Barrett’s: Ignore it or fry it” is simple: It depends on whether we are talking about Barrett’s with or without dysplasia! We now have ample evidence that  endoscopic interventions for dysplastic Barrett’s are effective in decreasing the incidence of cancer. As a matter of fact, the success of […]

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December 22nd, 2008

Telling the Truth About Colonoscopy, Take II

This article in Annals of Internal Medicine neatly drives home the argument that I made below about colonoscopies missing some cancers. Glad to see that in its coverage, the Times at least correctly identified that the problem is with who does the procedure, not with the procedure itself.

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December 3rd, 2008

Are We Telling Patients the Truth About Colonoscopy?

Last week I heard one of our really talented GI fellows talking with a patient before her open access colonoscopy, and she told the patient that this test prevents colon cancer. I was somewhat surprised at the definitive implication of that statement and later asked her how much protection from colon cancer does colonoscopy screening provide? What […]

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