Bowel Prep Quality Affects Long-Term Colonoscopy Outcomes (Medscape)

A new study from Austria involving 335,466 individuals aged 50+ shows that poor bowel preparation significantly lowers adenoma detection rates and increases the risk of postcolonoscopy colorectal cancer (PCCRC) mortality. Excellent or good bowel prep was achieved in 85% of procedures, but with worsening prep quality, the detection odds for adenomas, high-risk polyps, SSLs, and TSAs decreased sharply. Inadequate prep increased PCCRC death risk by over fourfold. The study emphasizes the importance of high-quality bowel preparation for effective CRC screening.