Table 2.
Diagnostic value of bleeding characteristics and other factors in patients investigated for rectal bleeding in a general practice open-access sigmoidoscopy clinic.
| Factors | Patients with factor | Patients without factor | LRa | Age-adjusted ORb | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n = 604 | Total (n) | Cancer (n) | % | Total (n) | Cancer (n) | % | (95% CI) | |
| Type of blood | ||||||||
| Dark | 121 | 9 | 7.4 | 483 | 13 | 2.7 | 2.1 | 3.2 (1.3 to 7.8) |
| Mixed with stool | 314 | 17 | 5.4 | 290 | 5 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 3.8 (1.4 to 10.6) |
| Both dark and mixed with stool | 88 | 9 | 10.2 | 516 | 13 | 2.5 | 3.0 | 4.9 (2.0 to 12.2) |
| Neither dark nor mixed with stool | 257 | 5 | 1.9 | 347 | 17 | 4.9 | 0.5 | 0.3 (0.1 to 0.9) |
| Haemorrhoids | ||||||||
| Haemorrhoids | 320 | 10 | 3.1 | 239 | 11 | 4.6 | 0.8 | 0.6 (0.3 to 1.5) |
| Haemorrhoids and bright red blood not mixed with stool | 159 | 3 | 1.9 | 400 | 18 | 4.5 | 0.5 | 0.4 (0.1 to 1.2) |
| Haemorrhoids and no other symptoms except bright non-mixed bleeding | 90 | 3 | 3.3 | 469 | 18 | 3.8 | 0.9 | 0.8 (0.2 to 2.9) |
| Other factors | ||||||||
| Increased frequency/loose motions | 269 | 13 | 4.8 | 319 | 9 | 2.8 | 1.3 | 1.0 (0.7 to 1.4) |
| Abdominal pain | 232 | 4 | 1.7 | 358 | 16 | 4.5 | 0.5 | 0.4 (0.1 to 1.4) |
| Weight loss | 62 | 3 | 4.8 | 531 | 19 | 3.6 | 1.3 | 1.3 (0.4 to 4.7) |
| History of irritable bowel syndrome | 96 | 0 | 0 | 481 | 21 | 4.4 | 0.0 (0.0 to 0.95)c | |
| History of diverticular disease | 34 | 0 | 0 | 536 | 21 | 3.9 | 0.0 (0.0 to 3.07)c | |
a
LR: the probability having the factor in people with colorectal cancer/the probability of having the factor in people without colorectal cancer.
b
OR for presence of factor versus absence of factor adjusted for age.
c
Non adjusted OR using Epi-Info.
LR = likelihood ratio.
OR = odds ratio.