Association of diverticulosis coli and vascular ectasias and the results of fecal occult blood test.
OBJECTIVE
This study was conducted to clarify the diagnostic value of an immunochemical fecal occult blood test for diverticulosis coli and vascular ectasias of the colon, and to assess the association of these diseases to the results of fecal occult blood test.


METHODS
An immunochemical fecal occult blood test over 2 consecutive days was carried out on 72 patients with diverticulosis coli, on 36 patients with vascular ectasias of the colon, on 36 patients with colon cancer, and on 144 healthy subjects.


RESULTS
The test was positive in 13.8% patients with diverticulosis coli, in 11.1% patients with vascular ectasias, in 83.3% patients with colon cancer, and in 6.2% healthy subjects, respectively, showing a significant difference in the detection rate between colonic diverticulosis and colon cancer, between vascular ectasias and colon cancer (P < 0.001). However, there was no significant difference in the detection rate between diverticulosis coli and healthy subjects, and between vascular ectasias and healthy subjects. In addition, there was no significant association between the degrees of diverticulosis coli and vascular ectasias to the results of immunochemical fecal occult blood test.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings indicate that the immunochemical fecal occult blood is unsuitable for the diagnosis of the patients with colonic diverticulosis and patients with vascular ectasias, and these disorders have little influence on the results of fecal occult blood test.
Nakama
H
H
Department of Public Health, Shinshu University School of Medicine, Matsumoto, Japan.
Fattah
A S
AS
Zhang
B
B
Kamijo
N
N
Uehara
Y
Y
D003106:Colon / Q000098:blood supply*; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis; D004108:Dilatation, Pathologic; D004241:Diverticulum, Colon / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D009780:Occult Blood