Open AccessRisk interval analysis of emergency room visits following colonoscopy in patients with inflammatory bowel disease
Author(s) -
Andrea N. Burnett-Hartman,
Xinwei Hua,
Tessa Rue,
Negar Golchin,
Larry G. Kessler,
Ali Rowhani-Rahbar
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0210262
Subject(s) - colonoscopy , medicine , inflammatory bowel disease , relative risk , confidence interval , incidence (geometry) , population , poisson regression , odds ratio , gastroenterology , colorectal cancer , disease , cancer , physics , environmental health , optics
Background and aims Prior studies suggest that colonoscopy may exacerbate inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) symptoms. Thus, our study aimed to determine risk of emergency room (ER) visits associated with colonoscopy among IBD patients and evaluate potential modifiers of this risk. Methods The study population included IBD patients in the Multi-Payer Claims Database who were >20 years old and had a colonoscopy from 2007–2010. We used a self-controlled risk interval design and mixed-effects Poisson regression models to calculate risk ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) comparing the incidence of ER visits in the 1–4 weeks following colonoscopy (risk interval) to the incidence of ER visits in the 7–10 weeks after colonoscopy (control interval). We also conducted stratified analyses by patient characteristics, bowel preparation type, and medication. Results There were 212,205 IBD patients with at least 1 colonoscopy from 2007–2010, and 3,699 had an ER visit during the risk and/or control interval. The risk of an ER visit was higher in the 4-week risk interval following colonoscopy compared to the control interval (RR = 1.24; 95% CI: 1.17–1.32). The effect was strongest in those <41 years old (RR = 1.60; 95% CI: 1.21–2.11), in women (RR = 1.32; 95% CI: 1.21–1.44), and in those with sodium phosphate bowel preparation (RR = 2.09; 95% CI: 1.02–4.29). Patients using immunomodulators had no increased risk of ER visits (RR = 0.75; 95% CI: 0.35–1.59). Conclusions Our results suggest that there is an increased risk of ER visits following colonoscopy among IBD patients, but that immunomodulators and mild bowel preparation agents may mitigate this risk.