Potential pitfall:
A negative bowel screening test should not be used to make decisions about referral in a symptomatic patient. Sensitivity levels have been set very differently for screening and symptomatic Faecal Immunochemical Tests (FIT).
Helpful hint:
The screening sensitivity threshold is 120ug/g in England (150ug/g in Wales and 80ug/g in Scotland). In symptomatic patients, the NICE DG30 guidance recommends that results should be reported using a threshold of 10 micrograms of haemoglobin per gram of faeces.
Cancer Keys are brought to you by GatewayC.
Download this Cancer Key here
Read the NICE NG12 guidance here
Access GatewayC’s Faecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) course here
