Do GIs still need to prescribe a clear-liquid diet before a colonoscopy?

A low-residue diet is a viable alternative to clear-liquid diet preparation, and gastroenterologists should be paying more attention to it, said David Johnson, MD, chief of gastroenterology at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk.

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Dr. Johnson spoke with Medscape on replacing a clear-liquid diet with a low-residue diet.

He was part of an earlier U.S. Multi-Society Task Force that recommended a low-residue diet as an option for patients, but he said, “It hasn’t received as much traction as I think it should.”

He then referenced a recent study from China that showed there was no difference in bowel preparation between a clear-liquid diet and a low-residue diet. Both groups had similar rates of polyp and high-risk adenoma detection and cecal intubation. However, the lower-residue group had fewer adverse events related to things like nausea and headaches than the clear-diet group.

About 50 percent of patients have said they wouldn’t repeat a colonoscopy because of the clear-liquid diet.

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