A Thinner Colonoscope Improves Pain but Not Effectiveness

Approximately half of colonoscopes in the U.S. market are pediatric colonoscopes, which some colonoscopists use exclusively. To expand on this concept of a thinner scope, a prototype of a new, ultrathin colonoscope was developed (Olympus) that provides features of “responsive insertion technology” (Dig Endoscopy 2011; 23:164), including more force and torque in the insertion tube and a dispersal of force when the bending section rounds turns in the colon.

To compare patient pain scores and performance outcomes between the ultrathin colonoscope (standard definition, 140° angle of view) and a standard colonoscope commonly used in North America and Western Europe (Olympus 180, high definition, 170° angle of view), investigators randomized 187 p…