Introduction: The medical literature describes disparity in colonoscopy performance. This randomised, controlled study aimed to characterise the impact of feedback on colonoscopy performance among gastroenterology (GI) trainees.
Methods: Gastroenterology trainees of similar experience levels who independently performed 581 colonoscopies over the study period were randomised to receive feedback/no feedback on their colonoscopy performance.
Results: Baseline colonoscopy performance was similar in both groups. Following feedback, caecal intubation improved by 10.5% (from 72.9 to 83.4%, p = 0.04) in the feedback group and declined by 6.1% (from 78 to 71.9%, p = 0.2) in the control group; polyp detection improved by 5.1% (from 12.9 to 18.0%, p = 0.2) in the feedback group and by 2.9% (from 16.7 to 19.6%, p = 0.5) in the control group.
Conclusions: Systematic feedback appears to enhance colonoscopy performance among GI trainees.