Willingness to undergo split-dose bowel preparation for colonoscopy and compliance with split-dose instructions

Split-dose bowel preparations for colonoscopy have superior effectiveness compared with giving all the preparation the evening before colonoscopy. Some physicians believe that split-dose preparations would be unpopular with patients scheduled for early morning colonoscopies.

To determine the willingness of potential patients to undergo split-dose bowel preparation for colonoscopy and the actual adherence of colonoscopy patients to split-dose instructions.

We performed a survey of esophagogastroduodenoscopy patients and drivers of colonoscopy patients asking whether they would accept split-dose preparations for early morning colonoscopy appointments. We also asked colonoscopy patients scheduled in the early morning if they had complied with the written preparation instructions.

Of the 300 individuals surveyed, the majority (85%) stated they would be willing to get up during the night to take the second dose of preparation. Of 107 colonoscopy patients with early morning appointments, 78% actually got up during the night to take the second dose of preparation.

Acceptance of and compliance with split-dose bowel preparations is high and should not be a deterrent to prescribing split-dose preparations for colonoscopy.