← Issue №6/ week of Aug 9, 2026/Endoscopy

Colonoscopy complications and associated costs and mortality in a Swedish colorectal cancer screening program.

From GI Signals issue №6: what this paper found, what it changes, and where it sits against the current standard of care, reviewed by Simon Mathews, MD.

Endoscopy retrospective · n=11,177 · Aug 12, 2026 · Endoscopy · IF 11.8

Colonoscopy complications and associated costs and mortality in a Swedish colorectal cancer screening program.

Epidemiologycolonoscopycolorectal cancer screeninghealth servicesepidemiology
Clinical takeawayContinue recommending colonoscopy as the preferred screening modality, as real-world data confirm complications occur in <1% of screening procedures with no increase in mortality and minimal program costs
What it foundBleeding in 47/10,000 screening colonoscopies (RR 52.6); any complication in 86/10,000 (0.86%); no mortality increase vs matched controls (RR 0.4, 95%CI 0.1-1.0); excess healthcare cost €32.88 per procedure.
ContextThis literature reports real-world complication rates and healthcare costs associated with screening colonoscopy in a large population cohort, with complications measured within 7 days of the procedure.
Measured against the standard of care· USMSTF 2017 (Rex et al., Gastroenterology) + USMSTF 2022 focused update on age (Patel et al., Gastroenterology 2022;162:285-299) / ACS 2026 (CA Cancer J Clin)

Decision at stakeUse colonoscopy every 10 years as the preferred Tier 1 screening option for average-risk individuals starting at age 45

… Multi-Society Task Force (2017 guideline, revised by the 2022 focused update on age to start and stop): offer average-risk colorectal cancer screening to everyone aged 45-75. … Colonoscopy every 10 years and annual FIT are the Tier 1 cornerstones. … The American Cancer Society's May 2026 guideline agrees on the 45-75 range, no screening after 85, and colonoscopy as the preferred option. …

From our summary of this standard, unedited — the part the paper bears on. … marks omitted text. Our wording, not the guideline's; read the source for its own text.

Our full summary of this standard

U.S. Multi-Society Task Force (2017 guideline, revised by the 2022 focused update on age to start and stop): offer average-risk colorectal cancer screening to everyone aged 45-75. Screening at 45-49 is a weaker recommendation than at 50-75. Colonoscopy every 10 years and annual FIT are the Tier 1 cornerstones. Tier 2 alternatives are multi-target stool DNA every 3 years, CT colonography every 5 years, and flexible sigmoidoscopy every 5-10 years. Capsule colonoscopy every 5 years is Tier 3. Any abnormal non-colonoscopy test requires a diagnostic colonoscopy, and a stool test should not be offered to a patient who would decline follow-up colonoscopy. Patients who are up to date with negative prior screening, particularly a high-quality colonoscopy, may consider stopping at 75 or when life expectancy is under 10 years. Decisions at 76-85 are individualized by health and prior screening, and screening after 85 is not recommended. The American Cancer Society's May 2026 guideline agrees on the 45-75 range, no screening after 85, and colonoscopy as the preferred option. It adds the next-generation mt-sDNA test and the multitarget stool RNA test (ColoSense), both every 3 years, and it adds an FDA-approved blood-based cfDNA test (Shield) only for people who decline or do not complete visual or stool screening. ACS says a positive stool or blood test should be followed by colonoscopy, preferably within 6 months. The 2026 ASGE paper on follow-up after an abnormal stool test is an implementation review (navigation, tracking, direct-access colonoscopy), not a new screening guideline.

USMSTF 2017 (Rex et al., Gastroenterology) + USMSTF 2022 focused update on age (Patel et al., Gastroenterology 2022;162:285-299) / ACS 2026 (CA Cancer J Clin) · reviewed 2026-10-11 ↗
Torbjörnsson E … Blom J · Endoscopy · IF 11.8 · PubMed ↗Permalink
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