Pediatric Patient and Parental Anxiety and Impressions Related to Initial Gastrointestinal Endoscopy: A Japanese Multicenter Questionnaire Study

Abstract

Objective. To assess anxiety among pediatric patients and their parents related to initial gastrointestinal endoscopy. Methods. Patients aged <19 years undergoing initial gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy and their parents were invited to complete a self-administered questionnaire related to endoscopy in 13 institutions in Japan. Results. The subjects were 128 children, aged 1 month to 17 years. Forty-eight patients (37.5%) underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD), 32 (25%) underwent colonoscopy (CS), 39 (30.5%) underwent both EGD and CS, 3 (2.3%) underwent balloon enteroscopy (BE), 3 (2.3%) underwent capsule endoscopy (CE), and 3 (2.3%) underwent CE and other endoscopic procedures. In the preendoscopy questionnaire, the most common concerns of the patients and parents before undergoing the procedure were “Pain” (45% of the patients underwent EGD or BE via the oral approach, and 52% of the patients underwent CS or BE via the anal approach) and “Procedural accidents related to the endoscopy” (63% of parents). In the postendoscopy questionnaire, the most common difficulty that patients and parents actually experienced before and after undergoing the procedure was “Hunger.” Conclusion. A preparatory intervention including an explanation regarding specific concerns before initial GI endoscopy, which this study revealed, could reduce anxiety experienced by both pediatric patients and parents.

Bowel Cleansing Prior to Pediatric Colonoscopy: The Children´s and Parent’s Perspective

“…There may be a risk if only one of these perspective is used when bowel cleansing before colonoscopy is planned. Bowel cleansing with PEG was experienced as the most difficult part of the procedure by both children and parents and this result is in accordance with previous quantitative studies [20,21,22,23]. These quantitative studies show difficulties with PEG intake based on a large volume and bad taste, however this study also shows that children were not psychologically prepared for this procedure.…”

“…The recommended intake of PEG is 25-35 ml/kg bodyweight per hour until clear intestinal fluid is obtained, either orally or by nasogastric tube [19]. Previous quantitative studies show that the intake of large volumes of bad-tasting laxative was the most difficult part of the procedure prior to colonoscopy from both the child's and parents' perspective [10,20,21,22,23]. A limitation of research in this area is that children's and parents' experiences of bowel cleansing have been largely neglected [10,11].…”

Parents' Satisfaction with Nursing Care for Pediatric Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Patients in Khartoum State Public Hospitals Khartoum, Sudan

“…(3) Gastrointestinal endoscopy is defined as: the examination which permits direct visualization of the gastrointestinal tract to assess the appearance and integrity of the gastrointestinal mucosa, detect lesions and provide access for therapeutic procedures, it is safe and effective . ( 4) (5) With the advancement of technology, new innovations in medicine and introduction of fiber optic endoscopy and equipments in pediatric, the pediatric endoscopy procedures has been performed effectively and successfully.…”

Feasibility and safety of bowel cleansing using low‐volume polyethylene glycol with ascorbic acid before pediatric colonoscopy: A pilot study

“…1 Moreover, the appropriate dosage of bowel-cleansing agents for children, according to their body size, is unknown. It is difficult for children to ingest large amounts of bowel-cleansing fluid within the limited time required for bowel cleansing prior to pediatric colonoscopy and transanal balloon-assisted enteroscopy.…”

“…A Japanese multicenter study revealed that 72% of children who received colonoscopy had difficulty taking a large amount of bowel-cleansing solution. 1 Moreover, the appropriate dosage of bowel-cleansing agents for children, according to their body size, is unknown. In the clinical setting, bowel-cleansing protocols for children are mostly based on the experiences of each medical facility; therefore, this differs widely.…”