SIGMOIDOSCOPY IN MINOR LOWER GASTROINTESTINAL-BLEEDING

The role of sigmoidoscopic examination in the diagnosis, evaluation, a nd treatment of minor lower gastrointestinal bleeding was investigated . A hundred patients with minor rectal bleeding were examined by rigid sigmoidoscopy under general anaesthesia between January 1989 and July 1996. Patients who had bleeding secondary to infections, anal fissure , or haemorrhoids were excluded from study. Patients were reviewed ret rospectively according to their diagnosis and endoscopic and histopath ological findings. Twenty nine of these patients were girls and 71 boy s; their ages ranged between 8 month and 14 years (mean 7.2 years). En doscopic pathological findings were established in 60 patients; 32 had rectal polyps, 16 non-specific proctitis, four solitary rectal ulcers , three internal haemorrhoids, two ulcerative colitis, two Hirschsprun g's enterocolitis, and one haemangioma. It is concluded that sigmoidos copic examination should be performed for the diagnosis, prognosis, an d choice of treatment in patients with minor rectal bleeding and the d iagnosis should be confirmed histopathologically.