By use of intubation time and patient pain, several patient characteristics were identified that may predict technical difficulty and pain associated with the procedure. These findings have implications for the practice and teaching of colonoscopy.

This study suggests that carefully performed sedation-free colonoscopy rarely causes complications and is well accepted by most patients. Sedation-free colonoscopy is more cost-effective, may be safer, and should be offered as an alternative to colonoscopy with sedation.