title: Telephone reminder call in addition to mailing notification improved the acceptance rate of colonoscopy in patients with a positive fecal immunochemical test.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Colorectal cancer (CRC) screening with a fecal immunochemical test (FIT) reduces CRC mortality; however, the acceptance rate of a colonoscopy in patients with a positive FIT was not high. The aim of this study was therefore to determine whether a telephone reminder call could increase the acceptance rate of colonoscopy in patients with a positive FIT.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed FITs for asymptomatic participants aged 50 years or older. For patients with a positive FIT, a colonoscopy was recommended via mailing notification only (control group) or via a telephone reminder call after mailing notification (intervention group). The calls informed patients about the significance of a positive FIT and encouraged a colonoscopy following positive FITs.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The FIT results were positive in 90 of 8,318 patients who received FITs. Fifty patients were advised to receive colonoscopy via mailing notification only, and 40 patients were advised via both a telephone reminder call and a mailing notification. The acceptance rate of colonoscopy was significantly higher in the intervention group than in the control group (p = 0.038). The lesion-detection rate for an advanced neoplasia was also significantly higher in the intervention group than in the control group (p = 0.046). According to multivariate logistic regression analysis, a telephone reminder was a significant determinant of colonoscopy acceptance in patients with a positive FIT (OR 4.33; 95% CI, 1.19-15.75; p = 0.026).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Telephone reminder calls in addition to mailing notification improved the acceptance rate of colonoscopy in patients with a positive FIT.
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Gang Dong Kyung Hee University Hospital, Kyung Hee University, 149 Sangil-dong, Gangdong-gu, Seoul 134-727, South Korea. dramc@hanmail.net
authors.forename: Jae Myung
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Cha
authors.forename: Joung Il
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Kwang Ro
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Joo
authors.forename: Hyun Phil
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Jae Jun
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Park
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003113:Colonoscopy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009780:Occult Blood; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017010:Reminder Systems; D013689:Telephone