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Description
Fecal occult blood testing is recommended as an alternative to colonoscopy as part of the Tier 1 colorectal cancer screening approaches recommended by the U.S. Multi Society Task Force. However, there has been widespread use of this test administered to hospitalized patients for evaluation of anemia or suspected GI bleeding even though fecal occult blood testing has not been validated for these indications by national gastroenterology societies. Furthermore, several studies have demonstrated that fecal occult blood testing is seldom helpful in clinical management (Ip, van Rijn, Cuthbert) and in fact may prolong hospital stay as well as delay the decision to proceed with endoscopy (Narula). Alternatively, fecal occult blood testing is frequently performed in patients with overt GI bleeding or those with unexplained iron deficiency anemia (Narula, Sharma), which by themselves are indications for endoscopy and do not necessitate FOB testing. Due to these reasons, several institutions have evaluated the clinical utility and cost effectiveness for inpatient ordering of fecal occult blood testing and have completely removed the test from computerized order sets. Our aim is to evaluate the ordering patterns of fecal occult blood testing in our hospital system to see if there is any diagnostic or clinical value that is provided by this test.
Publication Date
5-9-2024
Disciplines
Gastroenterology
Recommended Citation
Grodman J, Potes M, Sendelbach M. Pass, hold or hit: evaluating the clinical utility of inpatient hemoccult card testing. Presented at Corewell Health Hospital Farmington Hills 2024 Alvin Yarrows Research Day; 2024 May 9; Farmington Hills, MI.
Comments
2024 Alvin Yarrows Research Day at Corewell Health Hospital Farmington Hills, Farmington Hills, MI, May 9, 2024.