INTESTINE Vol.6 No.2(1)

Theme	To prevent from complication in colonoscopy
Title	Status of colonoscopic complications
Author	Akimichi Imamura	Department of Gastroenterology / Human Dry Dock Center, Sapporo Kosei General Hospital
[ Summary ]	According to a nation-wide survey by the Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society (JGES) in 2000, the overall number of complications from colonoscopies occurred at a rate of 0.04%. The mortality rate was 0.00081%. The overall complication rate and the mortality rate decreased compared with previous evaluations done in 1989 and 1995 by JGES. The number of complications (1,047) and deaths (21), however, increased with the numbers having recently risen for these procedures. Both overall complication rates and mortality rates were higher, compared with those for esophago-gastro-duodenoscopy (EGD). The complication rates and mortality rates were 0.004%, 0.00081% for colonoscopy and 0.007%, 0.00045% for EGD, respectively. Perforation rates were considered higher than rates of bleeding in observation colonoscopy, according to the analyses in some published data. No enough data about sedation was available in the JGES survey because sedation during endoscopy is not routinely performed in Japan. In a quote from the results of an American analysis (Arrowsmith, 1991), overall serious cardiovascular complications and death rates were 0.538% and 0.03%, respectively.