A study by Parc Taulí shows that a special diet day in preparation for colonoscopy is equal to or more effective than the standard three days

The study, published in the journal Digestive Endoscopy, determines that one day of a residue-free diet for pre-colonoscopy preparation is sufficient and facilitates better patient tolerance. The work was conducted with more than 800 people participating in the Colon and Rectal Cancer Early Detection Program.

The professionals of the Digestive Endoscopy Unit of Parc Taulí have shown that, for the preparation of patients who have to undergo a colonoscopy, the results of doing only one day of dieting are not less than three days of dieting (which are the ones prescribed as standard) and it also improves the person’s tolerance and colon cleansing for their preparation for the test. The study, which lasted two years (2018 - 2020), had 855 participants in the Program for Early Detection of Colon and Rectal Cancer.

The study was led by Salvador Machlab, Rafael Campo and Eva Martínez, with the collaboration of Pilar López and other professionals from the Technical Office of Cancer Screening, who are the authors of the article 'Effect of a low-residue diet for one day versus three on the quality and tolerance of colonoscopy preparation and performance' published in the journal Digestive Endoscopy. Recently, they have won the award for best oral communication given at the annual meeting of the Spanish Association of Gastroenterology.

The standard preparation of the diet prior to performing a colonoscopy so far consisted of three days of low-fiber diet and the intake of an evacuating solution. The study shows that doing the diet well one day, and taking the solution correctly, the result is the same as doing three days of dieting. The study's lead researcher, Salvador Machlab, points out that this decrease in days improves the patient's experience in the process of preparation for colonoscopy, and also highlights that, doing a day of dieting, they are with a higher proportion of people who have made excellent preparation for the test than with the standard three days.

Machlab points out that, from now on, not only participants in the Colon and Rectal Cancer Early Detection Program - who have participated in the study - will be able to benefit from doing the one-day diet also the rest of the patients who have to have a colonoscopy. At Parc Taulí, an average of 1.000 colonoscopies are performed each year within the Screening Program, and another 4.000 at the request of specialists.