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Patient Comfort During Colonoscopy

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Advanced Colonoscopy and Endoluminal Surgery

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Abstract

Colonoscopy is a commonly performed procedure for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disease of the colon and rectum. Barriers to the procedure include cost, the need to prep and the unpleasantness associated with that process, and fear of pain during the procedure. In order to assist in compliance with recommendations for subsequent exams and to preserve the general reputation of the procedure, it is necessary to provide patients adequate procedural comfort. While there are some enthusiasts for unsedated colonoscopy, most patients will not opt for this. Several sedative and analgesics either used separately or in combination are commonly used to give patients the desired level of comfort during the exam and to facilitate the exam and any therapeutic procedures performed. Additionally, other procedural adjuncts, such as water-aided colonoscopy, carbon dioxide, and varying scope diameters, have been touted as improving patient comfort, thereby allowing for lesser degrees of sedation.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Colon and Rectal Surgery, Ochsner Medical Center, 1514 Jefferson Highway, New Orleans, LA, 70121, USA

    Charles B. Whitlow M.D., F.A.C.S., F.A.S.C.R.S.

Authors
  1. Charles B. Whitlow M.D., F.A.C.S., F.A.S.C.R.S.
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Correspondence to Charles B. Whitlow M.D., F.A.C.S., F.A.S.C.R.S. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery - Colon and Rectal Surgery, Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA

    Sang W. Lee

  2. Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery Department of Surgery, Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

    Howard M. Ross

  3. Department of Colon and Rectal Surgery Northwell Health, Huntington Hospital Hofstra School of Medicine, Woodbury, New York, USA

    David E. Rivadeneira

  4. Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

    Scott R. Steele

  5. Division of Colorectal Surgery Department of Surgery, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA

    Daniel L. Feingold

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Whitlow, C.B. (2017). Patient Comfort During Colonoscopy. In: Lee, S., Ross, H., Rivadeneira, D., Steele, S., Feingold, D. (eds) Advanced Colonoscopy and Endoluminal Surgery. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48370-2_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48370-2_5

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-48368-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-48370-2

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