Correlation between prescribing doctor attributes and intestinal cleanliness in colonoscopy: a study of 22522 patients

Abstract

Objective

This study aimed to analyze the correlation between different attributes of doctors who prescribe colonoscopies and the cleanliness of the intestine to guide the development of colonoscopy application protocols.

Methods

Data on colonoscopy cases conducted in the gastroenterology department of Hangzhou First People’s Hospital between April 2018 and March 2021 were collected. The gender, age, professional attributes of the prescribing doctors, and Boston Bowel Preparation Scale (BBPS) score were recorded. In addition, the correlation between the prescribing doctors’ characteristics and the intestine’s cleanliness was analyzed.

Results

The study included 22,522 patients with a mean BBPS score of 6.83 ± 1.94. There were 16,459 male and 6,063 female doctors with similar BBPS scores (p = 0.212). The study found no significant difference in BBPS scores between 19,338 internist and 3,184 non-internist (p = 0.154). However, BBPS scores differed significantly between 18,168 gastroenterologists and 4,354 non-gastroenterologists (p = 0.016) and between 19,990 intestinal-related specialties(gastroenterology and gastrointestinal surgery) and 2,532 non-intestinal-related specialties (p = 0.000). In addition, BBPS scores were significantly different between 18,126 prescribing endoscopiests and 4,396 non-endoscopiests (p = 0.014). However, there was no significant difference in BBPS scores among doctors of different ages (p = 0.190). The study found significant differences in BBPS scores between male and female patients and those under or over 40 years (p = 0.000).

Conclusion

To improve colonoscopy preparation quality, priority should be given to doctors in gastroenterology, intestinal-related specialties, and endoscopiests. Their expertise may result in better education and improved bowel cleanliness.

Keywords:

• Colonoscopy
• bowel preparation
• laxatives
• BBPS

Ethical approval and consent to publish

All authors have approved this submission to your esteemed journal. Its publication is also approved tacitly by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out. The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

Research involving human participants and informed consent

The Institutional Review Board (IRB) of Hangzhou First People’s Hospital approved this study. All the patients give their informed consent for the examination.

Author contributions

Hayat Khizar: Wrote the original paper; Haibin Zhou: Performed statical analysis and data collection; Xiaofeng Zhang and Jianfeng Yang: Performed colonoscopy procedures; Jianfeng Yang: Provided article ideas and article review.

Disclosure statement

There are none to declare any conflict of Interest. The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

Data availability statement

The raw data of this study and more information can be found upon reasonable request from the corresponding author (YJF).

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by grants from the Zhejiang health committee [2021ZH003], Hangzhou science and technology commission [202004A14], and the Construction Fund of Medical Key Disciplines of Hangzhou [OO20190001], Hangzhou medical and health technology project [A20200132].