Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Correspondence Dr. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License, which permits unrestricted reproduction and distribution, for non-commercial purposes only; and use and reproduction, but not distribution, of adapted material for non-commercial purposes only, provided the original work is properly cited.
Background and study aims Colonoscopies in patients with spinal cord injury SCI frequently remain incomplete. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and impact of water exchange colonoscopy WE in patients with SCI. Results Intubation of the cecum and the terminal ileum was achieved in every case in both WE groups. Conclusions The WE in SCI patients is feasible and safe and has the potential to improve the quality of colonoscopies substantially.
Keywords: Quality and logistical aspects, Performance and complications, Preparation. Patients with spinal cord injury SCI suffer from neurogenic bowel alterations characterized by impaired colonic motility, leading to decreased large bowel transport, constipation, megacolon, diarrhea, and defecation difficulties 1 2.
If a colonoscopy is indicated, these neurogenic alterations hamper the entire endoscopic procedure. Despite individualized, intensified, and extended protocols for bowel preparation, the quality of cleansing remains inferior compared with the general population, leading to more aborted or re-colonoscopies after additional cleansing maneuvers 3 4 5 6 7.
The colonoscopy consumes more time, presumably due to both additional bowel cleansing and a technically challenging advance with augmented looping 3.
