Sodium phosphate a better choice for bowel preparation before colonoscopy as compared to polyethyleneglycol (PEG).

Abstract

Objective: To compare the frequency of good to excellent quality of bowel preparation before colonoscopy in PEG versus sodium phosphate. Study Design: Randomized Controlled Trial. Setting: Department of Gastroenterology, Doctors Hospital and Medical Center, Lahore Pakistan. Period: March 2019 to December 2019. Material & Methods: 180 patients was selected by non-probability consecutive sampling and randomly divided in to two groups: group A (4L of polyethylene glycol (PEG) in a split dose fashion, i.e. 2L a day before colonoscopy and 2 L given 4-6 hours before colonoscopy) group B (2 doses of 20ml sodium phosphate 12hours apart before colonoscopy) using random number table. The attending gastroenterologist scored the different segment of colon cleansing by using the Boston Bowel Preparation Scale (BBPS). Data collected is analyzed by Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS). Results: Among 90 patients who used sodium phosphate as bowel cleansing agent, 75 (83.3%) patient showed good to excellent result as compared with 90 patients who used PEG revealed the following result 71 (78.9%). p value was 0.44 revealing that there is no significant difference among both bowel preparation agents. Conclusion: Sodium phosphate can be used as an alternative agent in most of settings where PEG cannot be used either due to patient preference or due to its side effects.