Factors associated with patient absenteeism for scheduled endoscopy

Table 1 Prevalence of patient characteristics among patient’s who were and were not truant for scheduled endoscopic procedure

Factor		Number of patients (n)
		Control group1	No-show	Total patients evaluated
Urgent procedure	No	219	198	417
	Yes	99	50	149
Direct to endoscopy	No	235	187	422
	Yes	81	75	156
Referring doctor	No referral	9	17	26
	GP	293	235	528
	Specialist	19	33	52
Sex	Female	176	152	328
	Male	150	133	283
Time of procedure	7:30-10:00	125	87	212
	10:00-12:30	115	106	221
	12:30-15:00	86	92	178
Type of procedure	Colonoscopy	177	129	306
	EGD	109	107	216
	Flex-sig	40	49	89
Weekday	Monday	53	61	114
	Tuesday	58	65	123
	Wednesday	72	56	128
	Thursday	73	61	134
	Friday	70	42	112
Distance living from hospital	Within 10 miles	201	194	395
	Within 60 miles	106	74	180
	Beyond 60 miles	18	13	31
Previous endoscopy	No	132	104	236
	Yes	184	144	328
New patient	No	153	135	288
	Yes	161	133	294

¹Control group refers to a random sample of patients during the same interval who appeared at their appointment as scheduled; GP: General practitioner; Flex-sig: Flexible sigmoidoscopy.