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Hellmuth C. Heinrich, MD
University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf Hamburg, Germany

JAMA. 1981;245(8):823.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.—

Questions, doubts, and speculations concerning the sensitivity of the Hemoccult slide test for fecal occult blood detection and its reliability in the screening of bleeding colorectal polyps and carcinomas were raised in several recent letters to the editor by Dr Bharath and in the reply by Dr Goodman (1979;242:140), Dr Greegor (1980;243:119) and Drs Fleisher and Winawer (1980;243:1711).

Controlled studies in Germany and France have demonstrated false-negative Hemoccult slide test results in 50% to 67% of subjects with colorectal cancer and in 59% to 80% of persons with colorectal polyps or adenomas.^1-4 We have investigated the in vivo sensitivity of four commercial guaiac-type occult blood tests recently in 102 subjects with and without gastrointestinal blood losses of 2 to 193 mL/day by intraindividual and simultaneous comparison with the actual blood losses measured by whole-body counting of the iron 59 elimination. All subjects were for . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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