Impact of anesthesia on patient and endoscopist satisfaction after colonoscopy — A pilot study

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Colonoscopy is a standard diagnostic tool for the investigation and surveillance of diseases affecting the colon. The procedure can be uncomfortable and sometimes very painful, resulting in increased cecal intubation time and lower completion rate. However, it seems to be apparent that anesthesia for this procedure increases patient satisfaction; data are lacking about the impact of anesthesia on the technical performance of colonoscopic examination. Aim In our observational survey, we studied patients undergoing colonoscopy with or without anesthesia. We compared patient satisfaction, difficulties in endoscopy, and the impact of anesthesia on the examination room occupancy. Methods We enrolled 60 patients undergoing elective, outpatient colonoscopy because of various reasons. The patients were able to choose between anesthesia and sedation. Difficulties in colonoscopy were evaluated by the endoscopist's rating and by the time to cecal intubation. We assessed patient satisfaction by a numeric rating scale. Results We observed that neither the duration of colonoscopy nor the time spent in the examination room was different in the two groups (p 0.825, 0.998). There was a significant improvement in both patient and endoscopist satisfaction scores in patients undergoing anesthesia (p 0.0007). Conclusion We found that during colonoscopy, compared to sedation, anesthesia increases both endoscopist and patient satisfaction without prolonged occupation of the examination room.