Colonic cleansing

Inspection of the colon requires careful preparation removing colonic contents to optimise the safety and quality of the procedure. Ideally there should be no residual stool or liquid in the lumen that could mask any suspicious area.  

Flexible sigmoidoscopy 

The ongoing European sigmoidoscopy trials adopted a bowel preparation based on a single enema, self-administered at home within two hours from the appointment, or, in one case, at the screening centre.

No studies were found assessing the effect of having the enema performed directly at the screening centre, although this represents an option that might enhance participation by reducing patient’s concerns and enhancing engagement. Available evidence from one controlled trial did not indicate that using two enemas (the first the night before the test and the second two hours before the scheduled time for the exam) affects participation compared to using a single enema (Senore et al. 1996). Oral preparation was associated with a reduced participation in a large screening trial, compared to enema (Atkin et al. 2000). Adding oral preparation to the enema resulted in reduced participation (Bini et al. 2000). 

No difference in the proportion of inadequate exams was observed when comparing a single enema regimen to a preparation using two enemas or to oral preparation. 

Bowel preparation for screening sigmoidoscopy should involve a single procedure, either enema or oral preparation (II). A single self-administered enema seems to be the preferred option, but cultural factors should be taken into account, and patient preferences should be assessed 

Colonoscopy  

Data on the impact of different preparation regimens in the context of population screening with colonoscopy are lacking. A recent systematic review concluded that no single bowel preparation emerged as consistently superior. Sodium phosphate was better tolerated (Belsey, Epstein & Heresbach 2007), but safety alerts on its use have recently been issued by the US FDA and Health Canada. The authors identified a general need for rigorous study design to enable unequivocal conclusions to be drawn on the safety and efficacy of bowel preparations.

Timing of administration of the recommended dose appears important, as it has been established that split dosing (the administration of at least a portion of the laxative on the morning of the examination) is superior to dosing all the preparation the day before the test, both for sodium-phosphate and polyethylene glycol (Aoun et al. 2005; Parra-Blanco et al. 2006; Rostom et al. 2006; Cohen 2010)

A systematic review (Belsey, Epstein & Heresbach 2007) of different bowel cleansing regimens identified no significant differences other than improved patient tolerance of sodium picosulphate preparations. Furthermore, there are no preferred methods of assessing the effectiveness of bowel cleansing. Care must be taken however with some agents (i.e. phospho prep) in certain patient groups, especially the elderly and those with renal failure, due to potential renal side effects (WHO 2009)

To date no single bowel preparation for colonoscopy has emerged as consistently superior over another (I) although sodium phosphate may be better tolerated and it has been shown that better results are obtained when the bowel preparation is administered in two steps (the evening before and on the morning of the procedure) (II). It is therefore recommended that there should be colonic cleansing protocols in place and the effectiveness of these should be monitored continuously

Auditable outcome: Quality of preparation, patient satisfaction with the bowel cleansing regimen.  

Accessibility Several providers of bowel preparation close to the target population should be available when a patient is required to reach health or community facilities to obtain the preparation. Clear and simple instruction sheets should be provided with the preparation. For sigmoidoscopy screening, organisational options include the possibility of having the enema administered at the endoscopy unit