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| T o p i c : Colonoscopy
and Pregnancy |
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| Q: What
are the risks of this test while being pregnant? |
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| A: As a general rule, a physician would not perform an elective colonoscopy
procedure on a pregnant patient. The risks of the examination, therefore,
depend upon the relative risks and benefits of the diagnoses under consideration.
If a limited endoscopic examination were required during pregnancy, it could
possibly be limited to a flexible sigmoidoscopy ( partial colonoscopy) which can be done
without conscious sedation (thereby avoiding the risk of drugs given for sedation).
Patients who have conditions such as ulcerative colitis should schedule
surveillance examinations before attempting to become pregnant so that every attempt can
be made to achieve clinical remission prior to
pregnancy. The patient who is in remission before pregnancy is more likely to remain
symptom free during pregnancy than the person beginning pregnant with active
disease.
Check the link to the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation for
information regarding Inflammatory Bowel Disease and pregnancy. |
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