Impact of bowel preparation on caecal intubation time during colonoscopy

Objective: To determine the caecal intubation time depending on bowel preparation as per Boston Bowel Preparation Scale.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at Dr. Ruth K. M. Pfau, Civil Hospital Karachi between August 2018 to February 2019. A total of 201 patients were included in the study. Time was recorded from insertion of colonoscope to the time required to reach the cecum. Bowel preparation was graded during withdrawal of colonoscope by using Boston Bowel Preparation Scale. Pearson Correlation test was used to study correlation of BBPS scores with CIT, gender, BMI, adenoma and polyp detection.

Results: In this study 201 patients undergoing colonoscopy were included. Mean ±SD of age of patients was 36.9 ±15.8 years. Out of the 201 patients 112 (56%) were males and 89 (44%) were females. The results of our study showed that increased Boston Bowel Preparation Scale Scores were associated with decreased caecal intubation time. The mean CIT was 10.7 ±5.4 minutes and Pearson correlation was significant at 0.002. Significant correlations of BBPS were also found with BMI and adenoma detection.

Conclusion: The diagnostic effectiveness of colonoscopy depends upon the quality of the preparation. Good bowel preparation improves the speed of colonoscopy and its completeness.