Accuracy and value of the Hemoccult test in symptomatic patients.
Hemoccult faecal occult blood testing is widely advocated as a screening test for colorectal cancer but few studies have shown its correlation with conventional methods of investigation for colorectal disease. In a prospective study of 802 symptomatic patients with suspected colorectal disease there was good patient compliance (92.5%) and a high specificity for colorectal cancer (85.4%). The false positive rate was 8.6% (12 of 140 patients with positive results), and while the test result was positive in 22 of 26 colonic cancers the false negative rate for rectal cancer (45.4%) should not detract from its value as a screening test if proper digital anorectal and proctosigmoidoscopic examination are widely practised. A positive Hemoccult test result is a useful indicator for the need to proceed to full colorectal investigation, including colonoscopy.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003113:Colonoscopy; D005188:False Negative Reactions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009780:Occult Blood; D011351:Proctoscopy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012004:Rectal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*