The Colonoscopy Booklet:Effect of a Recipe Resource on Quality of Colonoscopy Bowel Preparation and Patient Experience

Overview

This study aimed to provide a recipe resource with visuals in line with the low-residue diet recommendations given to patients before colonoscopy, including cooking instructions for the meals in the diet list. In this way, we aimed to minimize confusion regarding dietary restrictions during colonoscopy preparation and ensure full compliance with the diet list. Our hypothesis is that this approach may enhance compliance with current recommendations and improve the quality of bowel preparation.

A total of 153 patients were included in this study. At the time of scheduling an outpatient colonoscopy, intervention group and control group were randomly assigned using a random-number generator for treatment allocation. The research protocol was explained during the colonoscopy appointment, and patients, when they agreed to follow their diet according to the recipe booklet, were accepted as part of the patient intervention group. A consent form was signed and collected. The nurse responsible for patient education in the endoscopy secretariat informed the patient that this booklet is an important component of bowel preparation and adhere strictly to the recipes in the booklet. The group who received the standard diet list and applied for their colonoscopy appointments were randomly designated as the control group. Bowel preparation was evaluated during the colonoscopy using the Boston Bowel Preparation Scale (BBPS). Cecal insertion and withdrawal times, polyp detection rate, utilization of the recipe resource, and patients' experiences related to colonoscopy were recorded. The research team utilized freely available resources from general cookery recipe websites to create the recipe resource, adapting it to align with the recommendations for a low-residue diet (figure). Recipes were selected based on criteria such as being visually appealing, easy to prepare, and easily modifiable to comply with the low-residue diet. A dietitian examined the recipe resource to guarantee that the recipes followed low-residue diet guidelines.