| Theme |
Colonoscopy for the super-elderly |
| Title |
Characteristic of colorectal neoplastic lesion in elderly patients |
| Author |
Hiroko Inomata |
Department of Endoscopy, The Jikei University School of Medicine |
| Author |
Shoichi Saito |
Department of Endoscopy, The Jikei University School of Medicine |
| Author |
Hisao Tajiri |
Department of Endoscopy, The Jikei University School of Medicine / Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, The Jikei University School of Medicine |
| [ Summary ] |
Due to improved living standards and advances in medical treatment, the number of elderly people has significantly increased world wide. The number of colonoscopies performed for elderly patients has increased in our hospital due to the rapid aging of Japanese society. We investigated the prevalence and clinical characteristics of neoplastic lesions in the elderly patient group (aged >85 years old) in our hospital.
The prevalence of neoplastic lesions in elderly patients was high. Most patients suffered from advanced cancer and complained of more symptoms than patients with adenomas or early colon cancer. The rate for surgical treatment of early cancer and advanced cancer was high compared to that in the younger age group. Physicians tend to avoid colonoscopies for elderly patients (over 85) due to the high risks of complications. However, the complications caused by colonoscopy was not high, as observed in our results. Therefore, colonoscopies should be performed for elderly people who complain of abdominal symptoms. |