Study: Pediatric Colonoscope Better for Women Who Have Had a Hysterectomy

Use of a pediatric colonoscope instead of a standard adult colonoscope is more likely to result in a successful colonoscopy for women who had have a hysterectomy, according to University of Utah researchers.

Reporting in the American Journal of Gastroenterology, the researchers said they compared use of either a pediatric or adult colonoscope in a total of 100 female patients who had had hysterectomies.

They said complete examinations were possible in 49 of 51 (96.1 percent) women when using the pediatric colonoscope versus 35 of 49 (71.4 percent) women when using the adult colonoscope.

When performing routine colonoscopy in women with previous hysterectomy, the researchers recommended "either starting with a pediatric colonoscope or having one available in the advent of a fixed, angulated sigmoid colon."

Other Sources: American Journal of Gastroenterology