A study found patients who ate certain "low residue" solid foods were better prepared for their colonoscopies than individuals who followed the clear-liquid diet. Researchers presented the study at Digestive Disease Week 2016.
Lead study author Jason Samarasena, MD, and colleagues tracked 83 patients who underwent colonoscopies at a Veteran's Administration Hospital and a tertiary care facility over a one-year period, comparing results of those who consumed only a clear-liquid diet on the day prior to the colonoscopy with those patients who ate a planned low residue diet that included limited portions of select solid foods.
Dr. Samarasena is a clinical professor of medicine in the gastroenterology and Hepatology divison at the University of California in Irvine,
Here are four points:
1. With the low residue diet group, the researchers found a significantly higher number of adequate bowel preparations.
2. The low residue diet group's satisfaction level for the diet was 97 percent.
3. Comparatively, the clear-liquid diet group's satisfaction level was 46 percent.
4. In addition, the individuals on the low-residue diet reported significantly lower hunger scores on the evening of the prep process, as well as lower fatigue scores on the following morning.