1989 Volume 31 Issue 2 Pages 490-495
As pretreatment for colonoscopy, we performed a combination method in the aged examinees (over 70 years old) with sodium picosulfate (SP) and nonabsorbable nonsecretory intestinal oral polyethelene glycol electrolyte lavage solution (PEG lavage solution) and evaluated its usefulness in terms of simplicity, safety and colon cleansing effect. This SP-PEG combination method reduced the time required for pretreatment, time for drinking the PEG lavage solution and the number of defecation, and highly appreciated by the examinees. In addition, this method was overwhelmingly preferred at the time of reexami-nation. The incidence of accompanying subjective symptoms was slightly high, but all of them were very mild. Examination of blood showed significantly small and clinically negligible changes in the hematocrit and serum osmolarity. Endoscopy demonstrated a good cleansing effect on the colon, which was apparently better than those of conventional Brown's method. In respect of simplicity and safety, this SP-PEG combination method seems to be useful especially in the aged examinees. Moreover, because the colon cleansing effect is excellent, this method is highly recommended as pretreatment for colonoscopy.
