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A College of Arizona Well being Sciences-led examine discovered that sufferers usually tend to get colonoscopies following irregular stool take a look at outcomes if affected person navigators help them by means of the method.
The paper, printed within the Annals of Inner Medication, confirmed that 55% of sufferers who have been assigned to a affected person navigator acquired follow-up colonoscopies inside a yr, in contrast with 42.5% of sufferers who acquired traditional care and not using a navigator.
“It is important for patients with abnormal stool test results to get a colonoscopy as soon as possible to prevent an increased risk of colorectal cancer and later-stage cancer detection,” stated first writer Gloria Coronado, Ph.D., the U of A Most cancers Heart’s affiliate director of inhabitants science and a professor on the U of A Mel and Enid Zuckerman Faculty of Public Well being.
“We found that using patient navigators improved rates of colonoscopy follow-up and reduced time to follow-up among patients who had an abnormal fecal immunochemical test, or FIT test. This guidance through the process can improve patient survival rates through earlier cancer detection.”
Sufferers ranging in age from 50 to 75 who had irregular fecal take a look at leads to the prior month have been enrolled in PRECISE, which stands for Predicting and Addressing Coloscopy Non-Adherence in Group Settings. The entire sufferers have been seen at Sea Mar Group Well being Facilities, a federally certified well being middle that operates 32 clinics in western Washington.
A complete of 970 sufferers with irregular FIT outcomes have been enrolled, and 479 have been randomly chosen and assigned to a affected person navigator on employees at Sea Mar. Sufferers not assigned to a navigator acquired traditional care consisting of as much as two telephone calls and a letter to schedule a colonoscopy appointment.
Affected person navigators despatched introductory letters, made telephone calls and delivered textual content messages to sufferers addressing six subject areas at scheduled occasions: introduction and barrier evaluation, barrier decision, bowel preparation directions, bowel preparation reminder, colonoscopy check-in and a last checkup following the finished process.
Navigators made as much as six makes an attempt for every scheduled name, and sufferers not initially reached have been referred to as as much as 12 extra occasions and despatched a follow-up letter.
Affected person navigation resulted in a 12% enchancment in one-year follow-up colonoscopy completion charges over traditional care. Moreover, sufferers allotted to navigation obtained a colonoscopy in a median of 229 days, which was 27 days shorter than traditional care sufferers.
Coronado stated the colorectal most cancers mortality charge could possibly be considerably diminished if sufferers with irregular stool take a look at outcomes acquired well timed follow-up colonoscopies, as sufferers who delay are seven occasions extra more likely to die from colorectal most cancers.
Sooner or later, Coronado stated her workforce hopes clinics will use navigators for sufferers who obtain an irregular stool take a look at consequence.
“By standardizing navigation, clinics can establish procedures that include notifying patients of their results and assisting them in understanding the importance of a colonoscopy,” Coronado stated.
In line with the American Most cancers Society, colorectal most cancers is the third-leading explanation for cancer-related deaths in U.S. males and the fourth-leading trigger in U.S. ladies, however it’s the second commonest explanation for most cancers deaths when numbers for women and men are mixed.
Extra info:
Affected person Navigation to Enhance Colonoscopy Completion After an Irregular Stool Take a look at End result, Annals of Inner Medication (2025). DOI: 10.7326/ANNALS-24-01885
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College of Arizona
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Affected person navigators enhance colonoscopy charges after irregular stool assessments, examine reveals (2025, March 31)
retrieved 1 April 2025
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