[Colorectal hyperplasic polyps in the population of Côte-d'Or, between 1976 and 1985]. / Les polypes hyperplasiques colo-rectaux dans la population du département de la Côte-d'Or, entre 1976 et 1985.

The data of the polyp registry of the Côte d'Or was used to study the characteristics of hyperplasic polyps detected in a well defined-population. In the 1976-1985 10-yr period, 1,222 hyperplasic polyps were resected in 874 Côte d'Or residents. They represented 17% of all polyps. The incidence rate standardized according to the world reference population was 21.9/100,000 in males and 8.1/100,000 in female. The male predominance was observed in all age groups. The incidence of hyperplasic polyps increased by a mean of 19.8% per year in males and 26.6% in females (P less than 0.001). Hyperplasic polyps were discovered twice as often in patients living in an urban area than in patients living in a rural area (P less than 0.001). Hyperplasic polyps were smaller than 5 mm in 91.4% of cases and were located in the rectum in 59.4% of the cases. They were associated with an adenoma in 21.0% of the cases. In the case of a rectal hyperplasic polyp, 10.5% of the patients had an adenoma in the left colon and 2.8% in the right colon. A rectal hyperplasic polyp cannot be considered as a marker of the presence of a large bowel adenoma. The relationship between hyperplasic polyp and colorectal cancer needs to be established.

[Appendectomy, cholecystectomy, cholelithiasis and colorectal cancer. A retrospective case control study at the Côte-d'Or]. / Appendicectomie, cholécystectomie, lithiase vésiculaire et cancer colorectal. Une étude rétrospective cas-témoins en Côte-d'Or.

Several studies have shown that there might be a relationship between previous history of appendectomy or cholecystectomy and the subsequent risk of colorectal cancer. In order to investigate these hypotheses, a case-control study was set up to compare the history of appendectomy and cholecystectomy as well as the presence of cholelithiasis in patients with colorectal carcinoma vs patients with gastric carcinoma. The study was performed in the 727 patients included in the Registry of Digestive Cancers of the Côte d'Or and treated at the Dijon University Hospital during the period 1981-1987. These patients were well matched to those of the whole registry population for sex, age, stage, and residence distributions. In females, in comparison to the gastric cancer patients, a personal history of appendectomy was more commonly observed in case of right colonic cancer (odds ratio: 3.5; P less than 0.01) and a personal history of cholecystectomy in case of left colonic cancer, in particular when considering only those earlier than 10 years (odds ratio: 3.2; P less than 0.05). In contrast, the risk of rectal cancer was lower in case of a cholecystectomy performed more than 10 years earlier (odds ratio: 0.2; NS) and in case of cholelithiasis (odds ratio: 0.4; P less than 0.05). In males, there was no difference between cases and controls as for the proportion of appendectomies, cholecystectomies or cholelithiasis. These observations are consistent with the hypothesis that the appendix as a lymphoid organ plays a protective role in colon carcinogenesis, in particular in women.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Colonoscopy in the elderly: a study of 200 cases.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate tolerance and diagnostic yield of colonoscopy in elderly patients. METHODS: We studied retrospectively 200 consecutive colonoscopies performed in patients older than 80 years (mean age: 83.5 +/- 3.1). We analyzed the following factors: indication, type and tolerance of the preparation, analgesia, tolerance of the procedure, information provided by the examination and therapeutic consequences. RESULTS: The indications were: anaemia in 81 cases, change in bowel habits in 58 cases, rectal bleeding in 26 cases and others in 35 cases. Preparation (4.2 +/- 1.3 L Polyethylene-glycol) was good 150 times (75%), moderate 27 times and poor 23 times. It was tolerated well 122 times (61%) and poorly 78 times (39%). Sixty-six colonoscopies were performed without any analgesia, diazanalgesia was used in 108 cases, general anesthesia in 8 and diazepam and/or antispasmodics in 18. Tolerance of colonoscopy was good in 140 cases (70%), moderate in 37 cases and poor in 23 cases. Tolerance was better with analgesia than without (p < 0.001). The caecum was reached in 167 cases (83.5%). Colonoscopy was normal in 68 cases (34%). The lesions discovered were: 40 polyps larger than 10 mm, 41 diverticulosis, 29 cancers, 7 ischaemic colitis, 5 angiodysplasias, 5 sigmoiditis, 3 villous adenomas, 1 Bothriocephalus and 1 thermometric ulceration. A lesion responsible for the symptoms was diagnosed in 80 cases (40%). Diagnostic yield was better when indication was anaemia (52%) than change in bowel habits (24%) (p < 0.001). The lesions were treated endoscopically in 41 cases (38 polypectomies, 3 electrocoagulations) and surgically in 22 cases. Colonoscopy as well as its preparation were well tolerated in 93 cases (46.5%). CONCLUSION: In a selected elderly population, colonoscopy was better tolerated with analgesia; large bowel preparation was often difficult. The diagnostic yield was relatively good. A multicentric prospective study is underway in order to determine the predictive criterias allowing an improvement of colonoscopic yield in the elderly.