**1. Introduction**

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214 Colonoscopy and Colorectal Cancer Screening - Future Directions

Colonoscopy is a common procedure in medical practice for a variety of gastrointestinal in‐ dications. It is widely used in the United Stated, especially since 2001, when Medicare ex‐ panded its coverage for screening for colorectal cancer to include colonoscopy. An estimated 14.2 million colonoscopies were performed in 2002 in the United States, with screening indi‐ cations representing half of cases [1]. Although generally considered a safe procedure, com‐ plications of colonoscopy as an invasive procedure should be noted. Complications vary from minor symptoms such as minor abdominal discomfort to more serious complications such as colonic perforation, cardiopulmonary arrest, or even death (Table). Although most studies have focused on serious complications, the less serious complications are important because they are more frequent than reported and may have an impact on willingness of pa‐ tients and their peers to undergo future colonoscopy. Colonoscopy complications are cate‐ gorized as immediate; occurring during the procedure or before discharge from endoscopy unit, or delayed; occurring within 30 days of the procedure. We will present in this chapter these potential complications in detail.
