Whole gut irrigation and Prepacol laxative preparation for colonoscopy: a comparison

Two techniques for preparation of the colon for colonoscopy were compared in a controlled trial. Fifty patients given a low residue diet and the laxative Prepacol were compared with 50 patients given whole gut irrigation. Significantly more patients suffered from vomiting (P = 0.0005), shivering (P = 0.0062) and nausea (P = 0.031) following irrigation; in two cases the procedure had to be abandoned because of profuse vomiting. Irrigation was less well tolerated by the patients (P = 0.00002) than preparation with Prepacol. On the other hand, the quality of bowel preparation was found to be better (P = 0.0005) after irrigation. On two occasions colonoscopy was not possible following Prepacol preparation because of faecal residue. Patients with a previous colorectal resection showed a similar quality of cleansing to those patients prepared with irrigation. We conclude that Prepacol is as efficient as irrigation for patients who have had a previous colorectal resection because the quality of bowel preparation is as good and the associated patient discomfort is small.