Abstract
Objective: Health screening participants who test positive for fecal occult blood are typically referred for further medical follow-up. Many of these individuals are reluctant to undergo a thorough examination and state that hemorrhoids are the reason for their hesitancy. Therefore, we examined the results of extensive testing of patients with a previous or current history of hemorrhoids, or who were having subjective symptoms of hemorrhoids at the time of the study. We considered aggressive promotion of extensive testing for such patients.
Methods: The study was conducted among 110,813 individuals who were examined using a fecal occult blood test (two-day method) at our medical center between April 2016 and December 2018. The participants were allocated into two groups: Group A (individuals with a previous or current history of hemorrhoids, who mentioned having subjective symptoms of hemorrhoids when they were referred for further examination), and Group B (individuals without any previous or current history of hemorrhoids, who mentioned having subjective symptoms of hemorrhoids when they were referred for an in-depth examination). The two groups were compared on the basis of the rate of consultation for extensive testing, the rate of positive findings, and the results of abnormal findings.
Results: The rate of consultation for extensive testing was 39.2% (237/604) in Group A and 46.5% (2,361/5,082) in Group B, which indicates that the rate was significantly lower in Group A than in Group B (p<0.001). However, the results of extensive testing showed that in both groups, approximately 40% of the participants had colon polyps and approximately 2% had colorectal cancers. There were no significant differences between the groups.
Conclusion: For the prevention, early detection, and early treatment of colorectal cancers, it is crucial that health screening participants with subjective symptoms of hemorrhoids be aggressively encouraged to undergo extensive testing.
