[Intestinal preparation with an osmotic solution for edema with double contrast media]

To evaluate the most effective way of cleansing the colon lumen for double contrast colon enema with a single preparation at osmotic effect.

We examined 80 patients (age range: 29-84 years) and divided them into two groups. Group 1: patients (no. 41) were prepared with the traditional method consisting of a residue-free diet in the three days before the examination followed by the administration of a sennoside-based laxative the morning of the day before and a dose of magnesium sulphate in the afternoon, after the Genoa School method. Group 2: patients (no. 39) were prepared with a Phospholax solution according to the following administration schedule: one dose in the evening two days before the examination and four doses the day before, that is two in the afternoon and two in the evening, followed by abundant hydratation. The examination was performed in a double blind fashion and graded as follows: excellent, good, sufficient, poor. The statistical analysis of all data was performed with Student's t-test and the chi-square test.

We obtained better results with the new protocol than with the traditional one, where some patients discontinued the preparation because of intolerance (nausea, abdominal pain and swelling). In addition, more fecal residues were found in the colon with the first preparation, which however provided better contrast agent coating than the new protocol. The second preparation provided better mucosal cleansing, with more cases graded as excellent-good, and there were no cases of poor coating or electrolyte disturbances.

Intestinal preparation with Phospholax was better than the conventional method relative to compliance, intestinal cleansing and side-effects (in both the latter two cases, the difference is statistically significant, p < 0.01). In conclusion the new protocol is a possible alternative to the traditional method thanks to its ease of preparation and effective results.