EVALUATING THE QUALITY OF BOWEL PREPARATION AND EXAMINING THE REASONS BEHIND THE REFERRALS OF COLONOSCOPY-CANDIDATE PATIENTS TO THE COLONOSCOPY UNIT OF IMAM KHOMEINI HOSPITAL IN URMIA

Colonoscopy is performed in order to examine the gastrointestinal tract. It can be used to evaluate the patients who suffer from certain medical conditions including chronic diarrhea of unknown etiology, occult bleeding, and anemia. The first essential step in performing an effective colonoscopy is adequate bowel preparation.

The present study was a descriptive cross-sectional study that involved 180 patients who underwent colonoscopy and were referred to the colonoscopy unit of Imam Khomeini Hospital in Urmia. It was conducted in a three-month period of time. The samples of the study were selected randomly. The demographic information questionnaire and the Boston preparation scale were used to collect the data. The data were analyzed using SPSS 16 software.

The quality of the patients’ bowel preparation was assessed based on the Boston bowel preparation scale. The obtained results showed that 26.1% of the subjects had inadequate bowel preparation. Moreover, based on the results of the study, the lowest frequency of referral to hospital for colonoscopy was related to the weight loss. On the other hand, the highest frequency of these referrals was related to positive occult blood test. Furthermore, the analysis of the results showed that the mean bowel preparation score in all of the samples was 6.4 with a standard deviation of 2.61. Finally, the left colon had the highest mean preparation score (2.33) and the right colon had the lowest mean preparation score (1.86).

According to the findings of this study, it can be concluded that bowel preparation is affected by various factors that influence the quality and the results of colonoscopy, cause misdiagnosis, and increase the treatment costs for the patients and health system. Therefore, considering the importance of the issue, educating patients, and using up-to-date knowledge about the patients’ bowel preparation can play an important role in the provision of solutions to these problems.