The Impact of Patient Education with a Smartphone Application on the Quality of Bowel Preparation for Screening Colonoscopy

Abstract

Background/AimsFew studies have evaluated the use of a smartphone application (app) for educating people undergoing colonoscopy and optimizing bowel preparation. Therefore, this study was designed to develop a smartphone app for people to use as a preparation guide and to evaluate the efficacy of this app when used prior to colonoscopy.MethodsIn total, 142 patients (male:female=84:58, mean age=43.5±9.3 years), who were scheduled to undergo a colonoscopy at Myongji Hospital, were enrolled in this study. Seventy-one patients were asked to use a smartphone app that we had recently developed to prepare for the colonoscopy, while the 71 patients of the sex and age-matched control group were educated via written and verbal instructions.ResultsThe quality of bowel cleansing, evaluated using the Boston Bowel Preparation Scale, was significantly higher in the smartphone app group than in the control group (7.70±1.1 vs. 7.24±0.8, respectively, p=0.007 by t-test). No significant differences were found between the two groups regarding work-up time and the number of patients with polyps.ConclusionsIn this study, targeting young adults (≤50 years), the bowel preparation achieved by patients using the smartphone app showed significantly better quality than that of the control group.

Enhanced Patient Education for Colonic Polyp and Adenoma Detection: Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

“…The sample size in individual trial ranged from 94 to 969 (a total of 4560 participants). Of the 10 eligible RCTs, 3 [ 39 , 41 , 46 ] were from Western countries, including the United States [ 39 , 41 ] and Germany [ 46 ], and 7 [ 9 , 40 , 42 - 45 , 47 ] were from Asian countries, including China [ 9 , 43 , 47 ], Korea [ 40 , 45 ], and South Korea [ 42 , 44 ]. In total, 8 RCTs [ 9 , 39 - 41 , 43 - 46 ] were designed with two arms and remaining 2 RCTs [ 42 , 47 ] with three arms.…”

“…In total, 8 RCTs [ 9 , 39 - 41 , 43 - 46 ] were designed with two arms and remaining 2 RCTs [ 42 , 47 ] with three arms. The participants in 5 RCTs [ 39 , 40 , 42 , 44 , 45 ] received screening colonoscopy; in 4 RCTs [ 9 , 41 , 43 , 46 ] received screening, surveillance, or diagnostic colonoscopy; and in 1 RCT [ 47 ] received diagnostic colonoscopy. A total of 8 RCTs [ 9 , 40 - 44 , 46 , 47 ] described the details of diet restriction, and other 2 RCTs [ 39 , 45 ] did not report on the diet.…”

Can Patient Education with a Smartphone Application Improve the Quality of Bowel Preparation for Colonoscopy?

“…In this issue of Clinical Endoscopy, Cho et al studied the efficacy of educational intervention with a smartphone application (app) to improve bowel preparation quality [ 14 ]. The educational app developed by the authors consisted of 4 sections: explanations of the colonoscopy procedure, dietary instructions, and instructions to prepare and drink the purgative agent.…”

“…After the colonoscopy appointment date was entered in the app, the alarm function started. For every meal, the app informed patients on what food items to eat [ 14 ]. The alarm function can be the best advantage of education with a smartphone app.…”

Improving the quality of colonoscopy: Impact of efficient and safer preparation protocols and shorter waiting times

“…Therefore, ensuring sufficient staff numbers and equipment for performing endoscopy to reduce waiting times and increasing contacts by telephone, e-mail, and SMS to reinforce bowel preparation education when waiting times cannot be changed may be useful approaches to improve outcomes (18). Recently, as an educational tool, smart phone applications developed for colonoscopy preparation were found to be easy and convenient, and they enhanced colonoscopy preparation quality, patient adherence to instructions, and patient satisfaction (19,20).…”