ORIGINAL: Colonoscopy Experience in a Private Hospital in Nigeria

West Afr J Med. 2024 October; 41(10): 1028-1033 PMID: 40009832

Abstract

Background: Colonoscopy remains the gold standard for examining and detecting lesions of the colon and can be used as a therapeutic procedure.

Aim: To report our colonoscopy experience in a private hospital in Nigeria.

Patients and methods: This was a retrospective review of all consecutive patients who underwent colonoscopy from September 2020 to January 2022 (17 months) at Saint Nicholas hospital, a private hospital in Lagos, Nigeria. Informed consents for colonoscopy were obtained from all the patients recruited. Ethical approval for the publication of this manuscript was obtained from the Hospital authority. Each patient had a 3-day bowel preparation before the procedure. Statistical analysis was carried out using IBM SPSS version 26.

Results: A total of one hundred and one patients were recruited into the study with no exclusion. There were 68 males and 33 females with a male to female ratio of 2:1. The mean age of the patients was 52.2± 1.4 years with age range of 23-93 years. The most common indication for colonoscopy was bleeding per rectum. Caecal intubation was achieved in 97% of the patients. Normal findings were recorded in 71% of the patients.

Conclusion: The most common indication for colonoscopy was bleeding per rectum. Caecal intubation was achieved in the majority of the patients with the colon noted to be normal in over two-thirds of the patients.