Specialties & Topics
- Arthritis/Rheumatic Disease
- Breast Cancer
- GERD/Peptic Ulcers
August 31st, 2010
Drown out that pain! Warm water infusions lead to better colonoscopy tolerance.
Well it seems you can teach an old dog a new trick after all! About 18 months ago I was exposed to the concept of infusing warm water into the colon during the initial part of the colonoscopy exam (100-150ml injected through the biopsy port when at the recto-sigmoid junction up through the sigmoid colon) and I have become a firm believer it helps navigate these difficult turns in the sigmoid, leads to less “looping” in the colon and as a result is more comfortable for the patient and the endoscopist.
My nurses note the difference as well and now most of my colleagues and fellows we train use this technique and all universally praise the results.
So, my question to you is:
1) Do you infuse water?
2) If so, where, how (syringe, foot pedal), how much?
3) What do you think of it?
4) If no, why not?
Look forward to hearing from you!