title: Types and patterns of colonic polyps encountered at a tertiary care center in a developing country in South Asia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify the prevalence, types, and patterns of colonic polyps in a cohort of patients presenting to a tertiary care referral center in Sri Lanka.
  
  
  METHODS
  Endoscopy and pathology reports of a single unit from 2006 to 2013 were analyzed retrospectively. Spearman's correlation coefficient and chi-square test were used to identify correlations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were a total of 158 patients (M : F, 10 : 57) who had polyps encountered on colonoscopy (n = 1408) and flexible sigmoidoscopy (n = 2402) with an incidence of 4.1%. Mean age was 56.5 years (SD 16.4) and the incidence of polyps increased with age. The majority (81.6%) had one polyp. A total of 188 polyps were assessed and most were seen in the rectum (33.5%) followed by sigmoid colon (22.9%). The commonest histological type was tubulovillous adenoma (33.5%) followed by tubular adenoma (24.5%). Most polyps were benign (91.5%). There was no statistically significant correlation with age or gender with malignancy, site, or histology.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The incidence of colorectal polyps was lower than the values reported in the west. More polyps were identified in males. There was no statistically significant association between age, gender, or multiplicity and malignant change in the polyps.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, 00800 Colombo, Sri Lanka.
authors.forename: Dakshitha Praneeth
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Wickramasinghe
authors.affiliation: Professorial Surgical Unit, The National Hospital of Sri Lanka (NHSL), 00800 Colombo, Sri Lanka.
authors.forename: Sanjeev F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Samaranayaka
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, 00800 Colombo, Sri Lanka.
authors.forename: Chamila
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lakmal
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, 00800 Colombo, Sri Lanka.
authors.forename: Sashi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mathotaarachchi
authors.affiliation: Professorial Surgical Unit, The National Hospital of Sri Lanka (NHSL), 00800 Colombo, Sri Lanka.
authors.forename: Chula
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kanishka Lal
authors.affiliation: Professorial Surgical Unit, The National Hospital of Sri Lanka (NHSL), 00800 Colombo, Sri Lanka.
authors.forename: Chathuranga
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Keppetiyagama
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, 00800 Colombo, Sri Lanka.
authors.forename: Dharmabandhu Nandadeva
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Samarasekera
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D003111:Colonic Polyps / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D003906:Developing Countries; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013188:Sri Lanka / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult