Same-day, low-dose bowel prep feasible for colonoscopy

(HealthDay)—A same-day, low-dose, 1-liter polyethylene glycol-based (1L-PEG) bowel preparation can achieve similar bowel cleansing to split-dose 4L-PEG bowel preparation in select high-risk patients before colonoscopy, according to a study published online Dec. 21 in the Journal of Digestive Diseases.

Stefano Pontone, M.D., Ph.D., from Sapienza University of Rome, and colleagues randomly assigned 44 hospitalized patients scheduled for colonoscopy and presenting with clinical risk factors for poor bowel preparation to either same-day 1L-PEG bowel preparation (Group A) or a split-dose 4L-PEG bowel preparation (Group B).

The researchers found that optimal bowel cleansing was reached in 63 and 56 percent (P = 0.64) of patients in Groups A and B, respectively. The adenoma detection rates were similar between the groups (14 percent in Group A versus 19 percent in Group B; P = 0.34). The large majority of patients (86 percent) received a valid diagnosis after a mean hospitalization of three days for Group A and six days for Group B (P = 0.04).

"Our data support that the schedule protocol proposed in this study enables a clear diagnosis in most of the inpatients facing a high risk for poor bowel preparation and no statistical differences are found between the two groups in terms of successful bowel cleansing achieved," the authors write. "Therefore, the same-day, low dose 1L-PEG bowel preparation could be introduced for selected inpatients."