Abstract
Background High-quality bowel preparation for a colonoscopy improves identification of early lesions in the large bowel, decreases procedure time and increases intervals between colonoscopies. Current recommendations advise a low-residue diet in the days leading up to colonoscopy to improve quality of preparation. This study prepared and provided a recipe resource to patients undergoing colonoscopy and assessed the quality of bowel preparation and patient experience. Patients and methods A "Colonoscopy Cookbook" resource of recipes that comply with the preoperative diet recommendations was created and added to routine preoperative information given to patients undergoing elective colonoscopies at a regional Australian hospital over a 12-month period. Endoscopic reports were reviewed for each case and quality of bowel preparation was classified as "adequate'' or "inadequate". Data collected were compared to a representative local cohort from 2019. Results Procedure reports from 96 patients who were provided with the resource were compared with 96 patients who were not. Adequate bowel preparation was nine times as likely when the resource was available (odds ratio 8.54, 95 % confidence interval: 2.85 to 25.60, P < 0.001) compared to when it was not. The patient experience was assessed using a post-procedure survey, which demonstrated a positive experience in recipe preparation. Most patients would use the resource prior to future colonoscopies. Conclusions Further randomized controlled trials are required to validate this scoping review. Pre-procedure recipe resources may improve quality of bowel preparation in patients undergoing colonoscopy.