Role of high definition colonoscopy in colorectal adenomatous polyp detection.

Aim: To investigate the rates of polyp detection in a mixed risk population using standard definition (SDC) vs high definition colonoscopes (HDC).

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort comparative study of 3 colonoscopists who each consecutively performed 150 SDC (307, 200 pixel) and 150 HDC (792, 576 pixels) in a community teaching hospital.

Results: A total of 900 colonoscopies were evaluated (mean age 56, 46.8% men), 450 with each resolution. Polyps of any type were detected in 46.0% of patients using SDC and 43.3% with HDC (P = 0.42). There was no significant difference between the overall number of polyps, HDC (397) and SDC (410), detected among all patients examined, (P = 0.73). One or more adenomatous polyps were detected in 24.2% of patients with HDC and 24.9% of patients with SDC colonoscopy (P = 0.82). There was no significant difference between HDC (M = 0.41) and SDC (M = 0.42) regarding adenomatous polyp (P = 0.88) or advanced adenoma (P = 0.56) detection rate among all patients examined.

Conclusion: HDC did not improve yield of adenomatous polyp, advanced adenoma or overall polyp detection in a population of individuals with mixed risk for colorectal cancer.