A recent study published in GIE: Gastrointestinal Endoscopy examines the role that changing patient position during colonoscopy can play in increasing adenoma detection rate.
Here are five things to know about the study.
1. The randomized, two-way, crossover study included 130 diagnostic colonoscopy patients.
2. The patients undergoing colonoscopy had each colon segment examined twice: the right side of the colon in the supine and left lateral position and the left side of the colon in the supine and right lateral position, according to the report. The researchers examined the traverse colon twice in the supine position.
3. The examination of the right side of the colon in the left lateral position resulted in improved polyp detection (26.2 percent vs. 17.7 percent). On the other hand, position change did not increase polyp detection on the left side of the colon.
4. The researchers found no correlation between luminal distension and polyp detection in the right side of the colon.
5. The study authors concluded examining the right side of the colon in the left lateral position increases polyp detection compared to examination in the supine position. For the left side of the colon, polyp detection was similar in the right lateral and supine positions, according to the report.