The hypothesis is that starting a bowel regimen with Polyethylene Glycol prior to robotic assisted sacrocolpopexy will decrease time to first bowel movement after surgery. The experimental group will take a pre-operative course of polyethylene glycol daily for seven days prior to procedure date. The control group will not be given any intervention preoperatively. All patients will take polyethylene glycol postoperatively.
In order to assess bowel characteristics and assess for pre-existing constipation a standardized questionnaire will be distributed to all patients prior to surgery at their pre-operative visit. The patients in the experimental group will have follow up via phone call, 3-4 days prior to surgery to assess for medication compliance or any side effects/complications. Patients will record if they are taking their Miralax as prescribed daily. They will also record their bowel movements and pain levels during evacuation. Prior to surgery, in the pre-operative area, medication compliance will be assessed once again. Post operatively all patients will take polyethylene glycol for seven days, once a day. They will maintain a bowel diary, which will record bowel movements, stool type and pain with evacuation. The primary objective is to determine if the preoperative use of polyethylene glycol decreases time to first bowel movement after robotic sacral colpopexy. Secondary outcomes include pain with first bowel movement, stool consistency and daily pain levels.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
71
Polyethylene Glycol 3350 17g should be mixed in 8 ounces of fluid for administration. Polyethylene glycol is a high molecular weight, water soluble polymer which can form hydrogen bonds with water molecules. It is an osmotic laxative solution which stimulates bowel movements by increasing the amount of water absorbed in the GI tract. It decreases feces consistency and increases their volume by promoting peristalsis and evacuation. The side effects of polyethylene glycol are bloating, gas or diarrhea. The half-life of polyethylene glycol is 4-6 hours and after 18 hours the concentration declines to non-quantifiable levels.
Northwell Health
Bay Shore, New York, United States
First Bowel Movement
Time to first post-operative bowel movement will be evaluated.
Time frame: 7 days post-operatively
Post Operative Pain With First Bowel Movement as Measured by the VAS Scale.
Patients will record their pain levels with first post-operative bowel movement using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) pain scale. The scale is numbered 0 through 10, with 0 being no pain and 10 being worst possible pain.
Time frame: 7 days post-operatively
Post Operative Pain at Day 1 as Measured by the VAS Scale
Patients will record their pain level using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) pain scale. The scale is numbered 0 through 10, with 0 being no pain and 10 being worst possible pain.
Time frame: 1 day post-operatively
Median Postoperative Pain
Patients will record their pain level daily for 7 days using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) pain scale. The scale is numbered 0 through 10, with 0 being no pain and 10 being worst possible pain. The average value over 7 days for each patient will be calculated. We will then report the median postoperative pain score averaged across 7 days for each group.
Time frame: Averaged over 7 days post-operatively
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