The impact of patient education on the quality of inpatient bowel preparation for colonoscopy

摘要

BACKGROUND: For patients requiring colonoscopy while admitted to hospital, achieving adequate cleansing of the colon is often difficult. OBJECTIVES: To assess the impact of patient education, in the form of both counselling and written instructions, on bowel cleanliness at colonoscopy.METHODS: A total of 38 inpatients at a tertiary care hospital in Vancouver, British Columbia, who were referred to the gastroen-terology service for colonoscopy were enrolled in the present study. Sixteen patients were randomly assigned to the intervention group, while 22 patients comprised the control group. Both groups received a clear liquid diet and 4 L of a commercially available bowel prepara-tion. The intervention group also received a brief counselling session and written instructions outlining the methods and rationale for bowel preparation before colonoscopy. Bowel cleanliness was assessed by the endoscopist using a five-point rating scale.RESULTS: The two groups were similar with respect to demographics, the indication for colonoscopy and findings at colonoscopy. The median bowel cleanliness scores in the control group and the enhanced-instruction group were 3.0 and 2.0, respectively (P=0.001). CONCLUSION: Patient,--counselling and written instructions are inexpensive, safe and simple interventions. Such interventions are an effective means of optimizing colonoscopy preparation in the inpa-tient setting.