Post-endoscopic infection more common than previously thought

(HealthDay)—The rates of post-endoscopic infection within seven days vary from 1.1 per 1,000 procedures for screening colonoscopy to 3 per 1,000 procedures for osophagogastroduodenoscopies (OGDs), according to a study published online May 31 in Gut.

Peiqi Wang, Ph.D., from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and colleagues identified colonoscopy and OGD procedures performed at ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) in 2014 in six states. Infection-related emergency department visits and unplanned in-patient admissions were tracked within seven and 30 days after the procedures. The rates of infections were compared with those after screening mammography, prostate cancer screening, bronchoscopy, and cystoscopy procedures.

The researchers found that the rates of post-endoscopic infection within seven days per 1,000 procedures were 1.1 for screening colonoscopy, 1.6 for non-screening colonoscopy, and 3 for OGD, all of which were higher than screening mammography and lower than bronchoscopy and cystoscopy (0.6 versus 15.6 and 4.4, respectively). Recent history of hospitalization or endoscopic procedure, concurrence with another endoscopic procedure, low procedure volume or non-freestanding ASC, younger or older age, black or Native-American race, and male sex were predictors of post-endoscopic infection. There was wide variation in rates of seven-day post-endoscopic infections, from zero to 115 per 1,000 procedures for screening colonoscopy, zero to 132 for non-screening colonoscopy, and zero to 62 for OGD.

"We found that post-endoscopic infections are more common than previously thought and vary widely by facility," the authors write.

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