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Colonoscopy is the gold standard for colorectal cancer (CRC) diagnosis and screening, but endoscopy services are usually overburdened. This study aims to investigate the usefulness of fecal hemoglobin (fHb) and calprotectin (FC) for the identification of patients with high probability of CRC who need urgent referral. In a multicenter prospective study, we enrolled symptomatic patients referred from primary care for colonoscopy. Prior to bowel preparation, fHb and FC quantitative tests were performed. The diagnostic performance was estimated for each biomarker/combination. We built a multivariable predictive model based on logistic regression, translated to a nomogram and a risk calculator to assist clinicians in the decision‐making process. The study included 1224 patients, of whom 69 (5.6%) had CRC. At the fHb cut‐offs of >0 and 10 μg/g, the negative predictive values for CRC were 98.8% (95% confidence interval 97.8%–99.3%) and 98.6% (95%CI 97.7%–99.1%), and the sensitivities were 85.5% (95%CI 75.0%–92.8%) and 79.7% (95%CI 68.3%–88.4%), respectively. When we added the cut‐off of 150 μg/g of FC to both fHb thresholds, the sensitivity of fecal tests improved. In the multivariate logistic regression model, the concentration of fHb was an independent predictor for CRC; age and gender were also independently associated with CRC. fHb and FC are useful as part of a triage tool to identify those symptomatic patients with high probability of CRC. This can be easily applied by physicians to prioritize high‐risk patients for urgent colonoscopy.

La calidad de la colonoscopia se mide por el grado en el que el procedimiento eleva la probabilidad de obtener resultados adecuados sobre la salud. Nuestro objetivo fue desarrollar un instrumento para evaluar la calidad de las colonoscopias de tamizaje, considerando el desempeño de los endoscopistas y las unidades endoscópicas.

Conocer las posibles correlaciones entre las escalas más utilizadas en la valoración de la espasticidad con aspectos más globales en cuanto a independencia y funcionalidad.

Colonoscopy quality is measured by the degree in which the examination increases the likelihood of obtaining adequate results on health. Our aim was to develop an instrument for evaluating the quality of screening colonoscopies, taking into account the performance of endoscopists and endoscopy units.