Frequency of rectal polyps among children presenting with rectal bleeding.

Objective: To determine the frequency of rectal polyps among children presenting with rectal bleeding. Study Design: Cross Sectional study. Setting: Department of Paediatric Surgery, Khyber Teaching Hospital, Peshawar. Period: 22nd October 2022 till 22nd April 2023. Methods: Male and female patients in the age range 2 to 16 years presenting with lower GI bleed were enrolled. Patients were evaluated for cause of the bleeding. Presence of polyps on proctoscopy was considered confirmatory for the presence of rectal polyps. Results: A total of 236 patients were enrolled. Mean age of the patients was 6.68 ± 1.239 years. Male to female ratio was 2:1. Rectal polyps were observed in 80 patients (33.9%) patients. Conclusion: Rectal polyps are a common cause of lower GI bleed in children in our local population. Proctoscopy evaluation is a simple clinical tool for evaluation, diagnosis and management of rectal polyps.