Colonoscopic lesions in veterans with spinal cord injury

The overall goal of this observational study was to determine the type and prevalence of colonoscopic lesions encountered in veterans with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) and to examine their relationship to lesion level, completeness, and duration postinjury. We retrospectively reviewed the electronic charts of veterans with SCI who are regularly followed in our SCI clinic. Colonoscopy in veterans with SCI was undertaken for their gastrointestinal (GI) complaints. Of the 87 veterans with SCI, 71 who were 50 years of age or older were included in this study. Of these 71, 28 underwent colonoscopies (39.4%). Demographic variables were matched between patients who underwent colonoscopies and those who did not for age, sex, race/ethnicity, age of onset of SCI, and duration of SCI (p > 0.05). The colonoscopic lesions seen in 26 (93%) of the 28 veterans with SCI who underwent colonoscopies included diverticulae, internal hemorrhoids, and polyps. No relationship was found between colonoscopic lesion type and SCI lesion location or severity. A relationship was found between total colonoscopic lesions and duration of SCI (p < 0.001). Age-, sex-, and race/ethnicity-matched veterans without SCI (controls) who underwent colonoscopy for their GI complaints had more colonoscopic lesions than the veterans with SCI who underwent colonoscopies (p < 0.001).