AbstractBackground: Accurate determination of indication is necessary to improve colonoscopic services. A detailed analysis and correlation of the colonoscopic indication with the histopathological diagnosis helps to increase the diagnostic yield of the procedure. The objective of this study was to determine the indications and estimate the diagnostic yield of colonoscopy in a tertiary care centre located in South India.
Materials and Methods: Three hundred and sixty patients who underwent colonoscopy were studied retrospectively. The histological diagnosis was correlated with the indication for colonoscopy and the diagnostic yield was calculated.
Results: The most common indications for colonoscopy in this study were bleeding per rectum, functional bowel disorders, chronic non-bloody diarrhoea and constipation. The overall diagnostic yield was 72.8% and 82.2% in those over the age of 50.
Conclusion: The diagnostic yield was high in our study especially in individuals more than 50 years of age. Colonoscopy remains an effective means of diagnosing colonic disorders.
Keywords: Colonic Polyps; Colonic Cancer; Colonoscopy.