Effects of body mass index on cecal intubation time in women

Abstract

Objective: During colonoscopy, cecal intubation time is prolonged with increase in difficulty of the procedure. Cecal intubation time may be affected by age, gender, and body structure. We investigated the relationship between body mass index and cecal intubation time in women.
Material and Methods: This prospective study included 61 women who underwent colonoscopy in the endoscopy unit of the General Surgery Clinic in Trabzon Kanuni Training and Research Hospital between January 2016 and September 2016. The colonoscopies were performed by a single surgeon. The height and weight of all the participants were measured, and their body mass index values were calculated before the procedure. The timer was activated as soon as entry was made from the anal region with colonoscope and stopped when the cecum was reached. The cecal intubation time was recorded for each subject. The results were evaluated statistically, and p<0.05 was considered to be significant.
Results: The mean body mass index was 29.6±6.8 kg/m2. The median cecal intubation time was 4 min. (minimum 2 min; maximum 8 min). A significantly strong positive correlation was found between body mass index and cecal intubation time (r:-0.891, p<0.001).
Conclusion: Cecal intubation time was found to be shorter in women whose body mass index values were high. This outcome may help to eliminate the “the colonoscopy will be difficult” preconception, which is common among endoscopists with regard to the colonoscopies for obese female patients.

Cite this paper as: Karapolat B, Küçüktülü Ü. Effects of body mass index on cecal intubation time in women. Turk J Surg 2018; 34: 94-96.

Authors declared that the research was conducted according to the principles of the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki “Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects”.

Written informed consent was obtained from patients who participated in this study.

Externally peer-reviewed.

Concept - B.K.; Design - B.K., U.K.; Supervision - B.K., U.K.; Resource - B.K.; Materials - B.K., U.K.; Data Collection and/or Processing - B.K.; Analysis and/or Interpretation - B.K., U.K.; Literature Search - B.K.; Writing Manuscript - B.K.; Critical Reviews - B.K., U.K.

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

The authors declared that this study has received no financial support.