Achieving the best bowel preparation for colonoscopy

Table 1 Features of meta-analyses that compared polyethylene glycol to sodium phosphate

Ref.	Period of inclusion	Comparisons	Trials, n1	Patients, n1	Results
Hsu and Imperiale[14]	1980-1996	PEG vs NaP	8/8	1286/1286	NaP better than PEG:
					Better at cleansing
					Better at compliance
					Lower cost
					Safety: NaP = PEG
Tan et al[15]	1990-2005	PEG/NaP/sodium picosulfate	29/18	6459/3484	NaP better than PEG:
					Better at cleansing
					Better at compliance
					Safety: NaP = PEG
Belsey et al[16]	Until January 2006	PEG/NaP/Others	82/25	-/3748	Cleansing: PEG = NaP
					NaP better for tolerance
					Safety: PEG = NaP
Juluri et al[17]	1990-2008	PEG vs NaP	18/18	2792/2792	NaP better than PEG:
					Better at cleansing
					Better at compliance
					Safety: NaP = PEG
Juluri et al[18]	1990-2008	PEG vs NaP	71/71	10201/10201	Not statistically different
					NaP more likely to comply better
Belsey et al[19]	Until June 2010	PEG/NaP/others	104/31	-/4450	PEG = NaP
					PEG better than NaP in proximal colon
					No information about compliance

¹total/PEG vs NaP. PEG: Polyethylene glycol; NaP: Sodium phosphate.

Table 2 Comparison studies including low-volume solutions

Ref.	Comparison	n	Conclusion
DiPalma et al[27]	PEG 4 L vs PEG 2 L+ 20 mg bisacodyl	93/93	PEG 2 L + bisacodyl is more tolerable
Jansen et al[28]	PEG 4 L	91/91/102/86/91	PEG 2 L + ascorbate equal to PEG 4 L solution in cleansing quality, taste and compliance
	vs PEG 4 L + with 20 mL simethicone		NaP inferior to PEG 4 L in bowel cleansing quality
	vs PEG 2 L + ascorbate
	vs PEG 2 L + ascorbate with 20 mL simethicone vs NaP
Pontone et al[29]	PEG 4 L vs PEG 2 L + ascorbate	72/72	Residual stool score significantly lower with PEG 4 L
Corporaal et al[30]	PEG 4 L vs PEG 2 L + ascorbate	149/158	PEG + ascorbate less effective in right colon cleansing
Marmo et al[31]	PEG 4 L vs PEG 2 L + ascorbate	435/433	PEG + ascorbate as effective as high-volume PEG-electrolyte solution but has superior palatability
Ell et al[32]	PEG 4 L vs PEG 2 L + ascorbate	153/155	PEG + ascorbate same efficacy and safety, better tolerance
Gentile et al[33]	PEG 4 L vs PEG 2 L + ascorbate	60/60	Similar efficacy
Repici et al[34]	PEG 2 L + ascorbate vs PEG 2 L + citrate + bisacodyl	202/203	PEG 2 L + citrate + bisacodyl more effective for bowel cleansing
Bitoun et al[35]	PEG 2 L + ascorbate vs NaP	169/171	PEG + ascorbate at least as efficacious as NaP, comparable efficacy, better tolerability profile
Rex et al[22]	4 L PEG SF-ELS vs NaP	68/68	NaP superior bowel cleansing, similar tolerability
Renaut et al[37]	MC-SP vs NaP	32/41	MC-SP better tolerated, similar cleansing effectiveness
Choi et al[38]	NaP vs magnesium citrate + NaP (45 mL)	79/80	Both similar effectiveness
Schmidt et al[39]	MC-SP vs NaP	182/190	MC-SP better tolerance, similar cleansing effectiveness
Hookey et al[40]	MC-SP + bisacodyl vs MC-SP vs NaP	105/109/101	MC-SP + bisacodyl better colon cleansing in the right colon compared with two other groups
Tjandra et al[42]	MC-SP vs NaP	120/102	NaP better cleansing
Katz et al[41]	MC-SP vs PEG 2 L + 10 mg bisacodyl tablets	300/303	Similar quality of cleansing
Rex et al[43]	PEG 2 L + bisacodyl 5 mg vs picosulphate	304/297	Picosulphate is better for cleansing bowel and tolerated

MC-SP: Magnesium citrate and sodium picosulfate; NaP: Sodium phosphate; PEG: Polyethylene glycol; SF-ELS: Sulfate-free electrolyte; SPS: Sodium picosulphate.