Split Dosing of Bowel Preparations

Numerous studies have shown that split dosing of bowel preparations (i.e., administering the first half of an agent the night before and the second half the day of colonoscopy) achieves better results than administering a single dose the day before the procedure. Now, an investigation of how the interval between single-dose bowel preparation and colonoscopy affects preparation quality has yielded additional, albeit indirect, data about this approach.

Researchers evaluated preparations in 378 patients (96% men; mean age, 62), of whom 71% received polyethylene glycol and sodium phosphate, 23% received polyethylene glycol and magnesium citrate, and 3% received sodium phosphate alone. Time intervals between the end of the bowel preparations and …