Piles of Money: "Hemorrhoids" Are a Billion-Dollar Industry. (May 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Cosman, Bard C.
• Is Part Of: American journal of gastroenterology. Volume 114:Number 5(2019)
• Publication Date: 2019-05
• Subjects: Stomach -- Diseases -- Periodicals; Intestines -- Diseases -- Periodicals; Gastroenterology -- Periodicals; Gastrointestinal Diseases -- Periodicals; Electronic journals; Periodicals; 616.33
• DOI: 10.14309/ajg.0000000000000234
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0002-9270

Abstract

Abstract : Abstract: Two persistent problems confront anyone wishing to gauge the public-health cost and impact of hemorrhoids. First, there is the slipperiness of the term "hemorrhoids, " which both patients and physicians use with imprecision. Second, there is endoscopic over-diagnosis of prominent anal cushions as internal hemorrhoids. While these factors both inflate the apparent cost of hemorrhoids, the fact remains that hemorrhoid diagnosis and treatment has become a billion-dollar industry.