SeHCAT Scan as an Investigation for Chronic Diarrhoea; a Single Trust Experience

Al-Azzawi, M., Darnborough, S., Devlin, L., Han, S. , Bolster, A. and Nicholson, G. (2021) SeHCAT Scan as an Investigation for Chronic Diarrhoea; a Single Trust Experience. Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland Virtual Congress 2021, 04-08 May 2021. (doi: 10.1093/bjs/znab362)

Abstract

Introduction:  Recent published (British Society of Gastroenterology) guidelines strongly recommended investigating unexplained chronic loose stools with  SeHCAT  scans when available rather than empirical treatment.  SeHCAT  scan was  introduced  at our trust in 2015. We aimed to audit this locally.   Methods  All  SeHCAT  scans that were done at our trust trust from Jan 2015 to March 2020  were included. Patient demographics along with risk factors and duration of symptoms were documented as well as the referred speciality.   Results   55 patients were identified. Average age at time of diagnosis was 50y (18-70y).  M:F  was 1:3.2 . Most scans were requested by the oncology team as part of the “pelvic radiotherapy late effects service” (n = 25), followed by the gastroenterology team (n = 22) and general surgery team (n = 8). The mean duration of symptoms was 4 years. 73% of the scans showed evidence of bile acid malabsorption (BAM)  (n = 40) with bile retention <15%, with the majority of them (n = 30) having severe BAM (retention <5%).  60% of the patients had at least one lower GI endoscopy as part of their workup. The majority of patients were found to have type 3 BAM (n = 37).   60% of patients had symptom improvement on either diet alone or with bile-acid sequestrants (n = 23) and were discharged. Conclusion:  SeHCAT scan is a useful test to investigate unexplained chronic diarrhoea. It is important to identify patients at risk of developing bile acid malabsorption. It is currently underutilized by our trust, which might be because of funding issues and awareness among clinicians.

• Item Type: Conference or Workshop Item
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Nicholson, Mr Gary and Bolster, Dr Alison and Han, Dr Sai
• Authors: Al-Azzawi, M., Darnborough, S., Devlin, L., Han, S., Bolster, A., and Nicholson, G.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Infection & Immunity; College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Medicine, Dentistry & Nursing
• ISSN: 1365-2168
• Published Online: 28 October 2021