Background and study aimsIn the last decade, there have been major advances in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) management but their impact on hospital admissions requires evaluation. We aim to investigate nationwide trends in IBD surgical/medical elective and emergency admissions, including endoscopy and cytokine inhibitor infusions, between 2003 and 2013.Patients and methodsWe used Hospital Episode Statistics and population data from the UK Office for National Statistics.ResultsAge-sex standardised admission rates increased from 76.5 to 202.9/100 000 (p<0.001) and from 69.5 to 149.5/100 000 (p<0.001) for Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) between 2003–2004 and 2012–2013, respectively. Mean length of stay (days) fell significantly for elective (from 2.6 to 0.7 and from 2.0 to 0.7 for CD and UC, respectively) and emergency admissions (from 9.2 to 6.8 and from 10.8 to 7.6 for CD and UC, respectively). Elective lower gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy rates decreased from 6.3% to 3.7% (p<0.001) and from 18.4% to 17.6% (p=0.002) for CD and UC, respectively. Elective major abdominal surgery rates decreased from 2.8% to 1.0% (p<0.001) and from 4.9 to 2.4 (p=0.010) for CD and UC, respectively, with emergency rates also decreasing significantly for CD. Between 2006-2007 and 2012-2013, elective admission rates for cytokine-inhibitor infusions increased from 11.1 to 57.2/100 000 and from 1.4 to 12.1/100 000 for CD and UC, respectively.ConclusionsRising IBD hospital admission rates in the past decade have been driven by an increase in the incidence and prevalence of IBD. Lower GI endoscopy and surgery rates have fallen, while cytokine inhibitor infusion rates have risen. There has been a concurrent shift from emergency care to shorter elective hospital stays. These trends indicate a move towards more elective medical management and may reflect improvements in disease control.

SummaryObjectives:This study aimed to determine the number eligible for bariatric surgery and their sociodemographic characteristics.Design:We used Health Survey for England 2006 data, representative of the non-institutionalized English population.Setting:The number of people eligible for bariatric surgery in England based on national guidance is unknown. The UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence criteria for eligibility are those with body mass index (BMI) 35–40 kg/m2 with at least one comorbidity potentially improved by losing weight or a BMI > 40 kg/m2.Participants:Of 13,742 adult respondents (≥18 years), we excluded participants with invalid BMI (n = 2103), comorbidities (n = 2187) or sociodemographic variables (n = 27) data, for a final study sample of 9425 participants.Main outcome measures:The comorbidities examined were hypertension, type 2 diabetes, stroke, coronary heart disease and osteoarthritis. Sociodemographic variables assessed included age, sex, employment status, highest educational qualification, social class and smoking status.Results:5.4% (95% CI 5.0–5.9) of the non-institutionalized adult population in England could meet criteria for having bariatric surgery after accounting for survey weights. Those eligible were more likely than the general population to be women (60.1% vs. 39.9%, p<0.01), retired (22.4% vs. 12.8% p<0.01), and have no formal educational qualifications (35.7% vs. 21.3%, p<0.01).Conclusions:The number of adults potentially eligible for bariatric surgery in England (2,147,683 people based on these results and 2006 population estimates) far exceeds previous estimates of eligibility. In view of the sociodemographic characteristics of this group, careful resource allocation is required to ensure equitable access on the basis of need.

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Background Polyp detection and resection during colonoscopy significantly reduce long-term colorectal cancer risk. Computer-aided detection (CADe) may increase polyp identification but has undergone limited clinical evaluation. Our aim was to assess the effectiveness of CADe at colonoscopy within a bowel cancer screening program (BCSP). Methods This prospective, randomized controlled trial involved all eight screening-accredited colonoscopists at an English National Health Service (NHS) BCSP center (February 2020 to December 2021). Patients were randomized to CADe or standard colonoscopy. Patients meeting NHS criteria for bowel cancer screening were included. The primary outcome of interest was polyp detection rate (PDR). Results 658 patients were invited and 44 were excluded. A total of 614 patients were randomized to CADe (n = 308) or standard colonoscopy (n = 306); 35 cases were excluded from the per-protocol analysis due to poor bowel preparation (n = 10), an incomplete procedure (n = 24), or a data issue (n = 1). Endocuff Vision was frequently used and evenly distributed (71.7 % CADe and 69.2 % standard). On intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis, there was a borderline significant difference in PDR (85.7 % vs. 79.7 %; P = 0.05) but no significant difference in adenoma detection rate (ADR; 71.4 % vs. 65.0 %; P = 0.09) for CADe vs. standard groups, respectively. On per-protocol analysis, no significant difference was observed in these rates. There was no significant difference in procedure times. Conclusions In high-performing colonoscopists in a BCSP who routinely used Endocuff Vision, CADe improved PDR but not ADR. CADe appeared to have limited benefit in a BCSP setting where procedures are performed by experienced colonoscopists.

In the 21st century, the core skills of trainee doctors are evolving as clinicians, leaders and innovators. Leadership skills are an essential tool for all doctors and need to be an integral part of their training and learning as set out in the General Medical Council's Good Medical Practice. It is essential to develop these skills at an early stage and continually improve them. A group of junior doctors participated in a pilot programme for leadership with the aim of executing a quality improvement (QI) project. This article describes our experiences of both the course itself and the project undertaken by our group. As part of the process of implementing change, we faced a number of challenges which contributed to our learning. These have been explored as well as potential ways to overcome them to enable the swift and smooth development of future QI projects. Using an example of a QI project looking at handover, this article demonstrates how a trainee doctor can implement their project for both professional and institutional improvement.

ObjectiveOur aim was to determine aetiology of post-colonoscopy colorectal cancers (PCCRCs) identified from population-based data through local root cause analysis at a high-volume mixed secondary and tertiary referral centre.Design/methodA subset of national cancer registration data, collected by the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service, was used to determine PCCRCs diagnosed between 2005 and 2013 at our centre.Root cause analysis was performed for each identified PCCRC, using World Endoscopy Organisation recommendations, to validate it and assess most plausible explanation. We also assessed whether patient, clinician and/or service factors were primarily responsible.ResultsOf 107 ‘PCCRC’ cases provided from the national dataset, 20 were excluded (16 missing data, 4 duplicates). 87 ‘PCCRC’ cases were included of which 58 were true PCCRCs and 29 false PCCRCs.False PCCRCs comprised 17 detected cancers (cancer diagnosed within 6 months of negative colonoscopy) and 12 cases did not meet PCCRC criteria. Inflammatory bowel disease was the most common risk factor (18/58) and the most common site was rectum (19/58). The most common explanation was ‘possible missed lesion, prior examination negative but inadequate’ (23/58) and clinician factors were primarily responsible for PCCRC occurrence in most cases (37/58).ConclusionOur single-centre study shows, after local analysis, there was misclassification of PCCRCs identified from a population-based registry. The degree of such error will vary between registries. Most PCCRCs occurred in cases of sub-optimal examination as indicated by poor photodocumentation. Effective mechanisms to feedback root cause analyses are critical for quality improvement.

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