Reinforced education by short message service improves the quality of bowel preparation for colonoscopy

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of reinforced education (RE) by short message service (SMS) on the bowel preparation quality of patients undergoing colonoscopy.

Methods: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs), conducted on the effect of RE by SMS on bowel preparation for colonoscopy from inception to November 1, 2021, were queried from databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, and EMBASE. After extracting the data, meta-analysis was conducted using Review Manager Software version 5.3.

Results: A total of seven RCTs with 5889 patients were subjected to meta-analysis. The rate of adequate bowel preparation in the SMS group (81.7%) was significantly higher than that in the control group (75.7%) (RR: 1.10, 95% CI: 1.03-1.17, p < 0.01). Four studies suggested that RE by SMS significantly reduced the non-attendance rate of patients for scheduled colonoscopy (RR: 0.74, 95% CI: 0.56-0.99, p < 0.05).

Conclusion: RE by SMS for patients undergoing colonoscopy can significantly improve the quality of bowel preparation and decrease the non-attendance rate of patients for scheduled colonoscopy.

Keywords: Bowel preparation; Colonoscopy; Meta-analysis; Patient education; Short message service.