Inadequate bowel preparation is commonly encountered by gastroenterologists who perform colonoscopies on hospitalized patients. Failure to adequately cleanse the bowel for colonoscopy can lead to missed lesions, longer procedures and the need for more frequent repeat procedures.
Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center tested whether giving hospitalized patients an educational booklet prior to colonoscopy can increase the quality of bowel preparation. The study used the Boston Bowel preparation scale developed at Boston University Medical Center.
In a randomized, controlled trial involving 85 hospitalized patients, Keith Obstein, M.D., MPH, and colleagues reported that 28 of 45 patients who received the booklet had adequate bowel preparation. In comparison, adequate bowel preparation was observed in 14 of 40 control patients who did not receive the booklet.
Providing an educational booklet on colonoscopy preparation increased the odds of an adequate quality of bowel preparation by more than two-fold, the researchers concluded. Their findings were published online last month in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
Send suggestions for articles to highlight in Aliquots and any other feedback about the column to aliquots@vanderbilt.edu
