Background/aims: We aimed to investigate the association between colorectal polyp detection rates and withdrawal times, and also to investigate diverticulum detection rates as a counterpart lesion.
Methodology: Thirteen trainee colonoscopists were characterized by their mean withdrawal time for normal colon. A total of 2,314 colonoscopies were analyzed.
Results: The mean withdrawal times ranged from 6.5 to 10.4 minutes among colonoscopists. Polyp detection rates in individual endoscopists ranged between 36.5% and 60.0%. When stratified by the hood use, a significant association was shown when the hood was not used (p=0.03), whereas no association was found when the hood used. On the other hand, diverticulum detection rates varied from 20.7% to 43.2%. A strong association was shown only when the hood was not used (p=0.009).
Conclusions: An association between the polyp or diverticulum detection rate and the withdrawal time was observed when the transparent hood was not attached, and mainly on the right-side colon.