Rationale:
Constipation is a common symptom in the population and places a significant demand on healthcare services. Patients with alarm symptoms such as rectal bleeding, occult gastrointestinal bleeding, weight loss, or iron deficiency anemia should undergo a colonoscopy. For patients under 40 years old who do not have alarm symptoms or a family history of colorectal cancer, the likelihood of finding organic disease is very low, and therefore colonoscopy should be avoided.
Reference:
- Gastrointest Endosc. 2014 Oct;80(4):563-565. doi: 10.1016/j.gie.2014.06.018.