Effect of physician-provided education on the quality of bowel preparation

Abstract

Background and study aims : Inadequate bowel preparation inpatients scheduled for colonoscopy is an important problem. Inour study, we aimed to investigate the effect of physician-providedbowel preparation education on the quality of bowel preparationand process. Patients and methods : A total of 150 outpatients who were referredto Kocaeli University Medical Faculty Hospital GastroenterologyUnit for colonoscopy between May 2019 and October 2019 wereenrolled in our prospective, endoscopist-blinded study. Patientswere divided into two groups. Group 1 (education group) included73 patients who received 10 minutes of verbal information froma physician in addition to a written information form. Group 2(control group) included 75 patients who received informationfrom a medical secretary in addition to a written information form.During colonoscopy, the quality of bowel preparation was assessedusing the Boston bowel preparation scale (BBPS). A BBPS score≥ 5 was considered adequate bowel preparation. The mean BBPSscore, polyp detection rate, cecal intubation rate and time, andprocedure time were also evaluated. Results : The rate of adequate bowel preparation (BBPS score≥ 5) was 90.4% and 74.7% in groups 1 and 2, respectively (p =0.021). The odds ratio for having a BBPS score ≥ 5 in the educationgroup was 3.199 compared with the control group (95% confidenceinterval = 1.254-8.164; p = 0.015). The cecal intubation rates were91.8% and 88% in groups 1 and 2, respectively (p > 0.05). The cecalintubation time, procedure time, and adenoma detection rates weresimilar between the groups. The relationships of age, educationlevel, sex, diabetes mellitus, medicine use, procedure time, andintraabdominal surgery with inadequate bowel preparationwere analysed using a logistic regression model. Univariate andmultivariate analyses revealed no significant factors associatedwith inadequate bowel preparation. Conclusions : Patient education on the bowel preparationprocess via a physician improved the quality of bowel preparation.