Optimising bowel preparation before colonoscopy.

A clean colon is required for a colonoscopy to be effective. Therefore, patients undergo a bowel preparation in advance of the procedure to clear the colon. Typically, this involves drinking 2 litres of polyethylene glycol or macrogol (PEG) solution, but dislike of the taste or having to drink such a large volume causes some patients not to adhere to this regimen. To address this, a PEG solution has been developed that requires patients to drink only 1 litre of bowel preparation in two flavours. The hope is this will increase patient adherence.