Impact of patient audiovisual re-education via a smartphone on the quality of bowel preparation before colonoscopy: a single-blinded randomized study

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Education on preparation is essential for successful colonoscopy. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of audiovisual (AV) re-education via a smartphone on bowel preparation quality before colonoscopy. A prospective, endoscopist-blinded, randomized, controlled study was performed. Patients who underwent colonoscopy with 3 purgatives, including 4 L of polyethylene glycol (4-L PEG), 2 L of PEG with ascorbic acid (2-L PEG/Asc), and sodium picosulfate with magnesium citrate (SPMC), were enrolled and randomized into the AV re-education via smartphone group (AV group, n= 160) and a control group (n= 160). The primary outcome was the quality of the bowel preparation according to the Boston Bowel Preparation Scale (BBPS). The secondary outcomes included instruction adherence using adherence score (AS) and patient satisfaction with education using a visual analog scale (VAS). A total of 283 patients (AV group, n= 139; control group, n= 144) were analyzed per protocol. The mean BBPS (7.53 vs 6.29, P< .001) and the proportion with adequate preparation were higher in the AV group. The mean BBPS of the AV group was significantly higher than that of the control group for the 2-L PEG/Asc and SPMC preparations, but not for the 4-L PEG preparation. The mean AS and the mean VAS score were all significantly higher in the AV group. Among the 3 purgatives, the mean AS was lowest in the 4-L PEG group (P= .041). AV re-education via smartphone was easy and convenient, and enhanced preparation quality, patient adherence to instructions, and patient satisfaction.