Good news: You may be able to sleep through your colonoscopy.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Having a colonoscopy exam is a rite of passage for middle-aged men and women—albeit one that nobody looks forward to. The majority of these often-uncomfortable exams are done while patients are moderately sedated, so most are able to hear and respond to directions throughout the duration of the procedure. But a recent study reveals that fully sedating patients with general anesthesia may be a better option: Doctors found more large polyps when patients were examined under deeper sedation. The theory, according to researchers who spoke at the recent Digestive Diseases Week conference in Chicago, is that keeping patients fully sedated allows the scope operator to conduct a more thorough exam, focusing more on the task at hand without worrying about the comfort or anxiety level of the patient.

THE DETAILS: Researchers from the Oregon Health & Science University in Portland looked at reports provided by the Clinical Outcomes Research Initiative, which collects patient information on colonoscopies performed at 61 sites around the U.S. From 2002 to 2007, 101,367 patients had a colonoscopy procedure while under moderate conscious sedation, and 3,501 had the procedure while under deep sedation. Large polyps over 9 millimeters in size (which often indicate a more advanced problem) were found more frequently in patients who were deeply sedated. In fact, doctors found these larger polyps, or suspected colorectal tumors, at a 25 percent higher rate in patients who were deeply sedated compared to those who were only moderately sedated. The researchers point out that since this is a retrospective analysis of existing data, further studies are needed in order to rule out other factors that may be driving these results.