January 19th, 2012
Stewardship in medicine: Is it time to stop sending small polyps to the pathologist?
The American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy has stated: “In order for colorectal polyps <5 mm in size to be resected and discarded without pathologic assessment, endoscopic technology (when used with high confidence) used to determine histology of polyps <5 mm in size, when combined with the histopathologic assessment of polyps >5 mm in size, should […]
September 19th, 2011
Is it time to make a U-turn in the right colon during colonoscopy?
The right side of the colon seems to be the Achilles heel of colonoscopy because polyps there tend to be flat and harder to find, and we confer the least protection from later colon cancer in that zone. A recent article summary in Journal Watch Gastroenterology concludes that when we see a right-sided colon polyp, we may have […]
February 18th, 2009
CMS and CT Colonography: What’s the Beef About?
Last week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that they are not likely to cover virtual colonoscopy (CT colonography or CTC) for colorectal cancer screening in Medicare beneficiaries. The announcement came just months after the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force declined to recommend the test, citing insufficient evidence. Not surprisingly, the radiology […]
M. Brian Fennerty, MD
Editor-in-Chief
NEJM Journal Watch Gastroenterology
Biography | Disclosures | Summaries
Learn more about Gut Check on Gastroenterology.
