Rigid sigmoidoscopy is a common outpatient procedure to diagnose many rectosigmoid pathologies. As better investigative tools replace it, we decided to consider its validity at our outpatient settings. A retrospective study of the data at our sigmoidoscopy center demonstrated its efficacy as an inexpensive and effective method to screen and diagnose numerous pathologies in a setup such as ours.

Objectives:

1. To determine the diagnostic yield of rigid sigmoidoscopy as an investigative tool with special emphasis on neoplastic lesions.
2. To determine yearly trends in various pathologies.

Design: Retrospective study of data from the records of a sigmoidoscopy center at SMHS Hospital, Kashmir, India, from April 2002 to April 2006.

Main outcome measures: Number of sigmoidoscopy procedures performed, various pathologies picked up, sex distribution of pathologies, emphasis on rectosigmoid carcinoma cases and hemorrhoids.

Results: During the study period, 6125 examinations were done on 5244 patients. A total of 3522 abnormalities were picked up, giving a diagnostic yield of 67.2%. The most common lesion found was hemorrhoids (2418 cases, 46.1%). Other pathologies included neoplasms (660 cases, 12.6%), anal fissures (227 cases, 4.3%), fistula in ano (91 cases, 1.7%), and others (126 cases, 2.4%). Certain temporal
trends in various pathologies also were observed.

Conclusions: Rigid sigmoidoscopy is a feasible diagnostic tool for diagnosing various rectosigmoid pathologies. The incidence of rectosigmoid carcinoma is increasing.