A study, published in Journal of Digestive Disease, examined whether a new same-day, low-dose polyethylene glycol-based bowel preparation was both tolerable and effective for bowel preparation.
Study authors conducted a single-center prospective pilot study. Forty-four patients were split into two groups receiving either 1 liter of the polyethylene glycol-based bowel preparation solution or a split-dose 4 liter polyethylene glycol-based bowel preparation solution.
Here's what they found:
1. Optimal bowel cleaning was reached in 63 percent of the 1 liter patients and 56 percent of the 4 liter patients.
2. Adenoma detection rate was higher for the 4 liter group than the 1 liter group.
3. Physicians reached a valid diagnosis in 38 of the 44 patients. In the 1 liter group, physicians diagnosed 21 patients, in the 4 liter group, physicians diagnosed 17 patients.
4. Patients in the 1 liter group were hospitalized for an average of three days, and those in the 4 liter group were hospitalized for six days, on average.
Researchers concluded, "Our data support that the schedule protocol proposed in this study enables a clear diagnosis in most of the inpatients facing a high risk for poor bowel preparation and no statistical differences are found between the two groups in terms of successful bowel cleansing achieved. Therefore, the same-day, low dose 1L-PEG bowel preparation could be introduced for selected inpatients."