Second study shows tolerability of bowel preparation linked to polyp and adenoma detection
TUESDAY, May 22 (HealthDay News) -- Patients undergoing screening for colorectal cancer tend to prefer colonoscopy versus computed tomography colonography (CTC); and for those undergoing colonoscopy, the tolerability of bowel preparation is associated with improved polyp and adenoma detection, according to two studies presented at the annual Digestive Disease Week, held from May 19 to 22 in San Diego.
George Ou, M.D., from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, and colleagues investigated patient satisfaction following tandem CTC and colonoscopy among a cohort of 90 individuals with a mean age of 55 years. The researchers found that a significantly larger proportion of patients felt less anxious and experienced less pain and discomfort during colonoscopy. Overall, colonoscopy was considered more satisfactory by 30 percent of patients, compared with the 4 percent who considered CTC more satisfactory. Seventy-seven percent of patients preferred colonoscopy as a repeat screening test.
Edward W. Holt, M.D., from the California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco, and colleagues conducted a prospective study of 430 patients (mean age, 60.4 years) presenting for colonoscopy to investigate the correlation between patient perception of bowel preparation and the quality of preparation and yield of colonoscopy. The researchers found that there were significant correlations between the quality of bowel preparation and the self-reported percent of preparation completed, clarity of bowel movements, and tolerability of bowel preparation. Tolerability of bowel preparation correlated significantly with the detection of polyps and adenomas.
"Patients who self-reported a better experience with bowel preparation had significantly greater rates of both adenoma and polyp detection. Efforts to make bowel preparation more tolerable for patients may lead to improvements in the quality of bowel preparation and in adenoma yield," Holt and colleagues conclude.
Several authors of the Ou study disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry. One author of the Holt study disclosed financial ties to the San Francisco Endoscopy Center.
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