DELAY IN DIAGNOSIS OF COLORECTAL-CANCER IN ELDERLY PATIENTS

The medical histories of 178 colorectal cancer patients were studied r etrospectively from hospital records. The average age at the time of d iagnosis was 71 years. Visible loss of blood or anaemia were the commo nest features. The mean time from first symptom to first medical consu ltation was 82.8 days. Men under 65 years and women over 80 years wait ed the longest time before consulting a physician. The mean time from the first medical consultation to diagnosis was 44.7 days. The delay w as longer for men than for women but longest for women aged over 80 ye ars. Information about digital rectal examination was lacking in over half of all patients and in two-thirds of patients over 80 years. In p atients in whom rectal examination had been made, as many as 60%. of r ectal cancers were digitally palpable. Barium enema missed the cancer diagnosis in 11.2% of patients at the first examination; the missed ca ncers were located in the sigmoid area and in the right colon. Colonos copy can be recommended as the primary investigation method when color ectal cancer is suspected. Re-examination is necessary in elderly pati ents with sideropenic anaemia if the first examination is negative.