UPDATE 1-Deep sedation helps doctors find more polyps-study

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* Full sedation puts doctor, patient at ease

* Helped doctors find 25 percent more colon polyps

By Julie Steenhuysen

CHICAGO, June 1 (Reuters) - Doctors find more colon polyps when their patients are fully unconscious instead of only moderately sedated during colonoscopy exams, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

They said having patients fully sedated during a colonoscopy may allow doctors to focus on the task at hand and do better work.

In the United States, the vast majority of patients are partially conscious during colonoscopies, but new automatic sedation machines, such as Johnson & Johnson's Sedasys device, may allow more patients to be screened, the researchers said.

A colonoscopy is an uncomfortable procedure in which a long, flexible, lighted tube is inserted through the rectum to look for precancerous lesions or polyps in the colon.

During the procedure, the doctor may remove precancerous growths, preventing the development of cancer, and take tissue samples. The procedure can detect colorectal cancer at early stages when it responds best to treatment.