Clinical, endoscopic and pathological characteristics of colorectal polyps in elderly patients: Single-center experience.

Increasing age is a risk factor for the development of colorectal adenomas and advanced adenomas. However, few studies have been published on the features of colorectal polyps in the elderly. The present study aimed to investigate the clinical, enteroscopic and pathological characteristics of colorectal polyps in Chinese elderly patients in a single center (The Central Hospital of Wuhan, Hubei, China). The endoscopic and pathological reports of colonoscopies performed in our center were retrospectively analyzed. A total of 7,795 consecutive patients referred for colonoscopy were evaluated between January 2013 and December 2014. Of the 297 who met the inclusion criteria, 279 polyps were observed in men and 230 in women. Of all the polyps, 263 were non-adenomatous polyps, 104 were non-advanced adenomas and 142 were advanced adenomas. 336 polyps were left-sided and 173 were right-sided. Polyps ≥10 mm were more likely to exhibit an adenomatous component and advanced features, and these findings continued to hold true when the size cut-off was set at 5 mm. The data shown in the present study have revealed that a significant number of polyps lie proximal to the splenic flexure. Thus, evaluation of the whole bowel is particularly important in elderly patients who are undergoing colonoscopy. In addition, the polyp size was associated with the presence of adenoma, and advanced component, diminutive and small polyps should not be ignored in elderly patients.