Based on evidence, updated recommendations for FIT by the Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland and the British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG) (2022), offer guidelines for identifying patients requiring further investigation for bowel disease*.
The guidelines include the following:
- FIT to stratify patients younger than 50 years with bowel symptoms suspicious of CRC
- FIT to be used as triage tool for further colorectal investigation at primary care level
- FIT threshold of fHb ≥10 μg Hb/g for urgent referral for CRC investigation
- Safety-netting for symptomatic patients if fHb <10μg Hb/g
- FIT to be used for people with iron deficiency anaemia within primary care
- Counselling to encourage completion of FIT tests
- Clinicians to actively prevent discrimination at any stage of the diagnostic pathway as symptomatic FIT
Alpha Laboratories provides a complete FIT service solution including patient packs for sample collection and return logistics. The automated HM-JACKarc analysis platform is widely recommended and ensures excellent sensitivity and specificity.
Find out more at www.faecal-immunochemical-test.co.uk
* https://gut.bmj.com/content/early/2022/07/25/gutjnl-2022-327985
