Sigmoidoscopy of the rectum: preparing the patient for the study

The process of preparing for diagnosis

When preparing for sigmoidoscopy, a number of conditions must be met:

follow a slag-free diet;
refrain from excessive physical activity;
cleanse the intestines.

The video presented by the Gastro Video channel describes in detail the algorithm and procedure for preparing a patient for rectoscopy.

Nutrition before the procedure

Three days before an endoscopic examination of the large intestine, you need to follow a diet and eat right, while excluding roughage foods that contain fiber from your diet. The menu should include easily digestible food that does not cause a feeling of heaviness and discomfort in the stomach.

You should avoid the following products:

fatty meat and fish;
potatoes in any form;
pasta and baked goods;
legumes and nuts;
chocolate, alcohol, black tea, coffee;
spices, seasonings, smoked meats;
rye bread.

You should not eat cabbage and apples, as they can cause excessive gas formation and fermentation in the intestines. Such processes in the patient’s body can affect the information content of sigmoidoscopy.

It is necessary to include in the diet:

lean fish and meat;
vegetable broths;
low-fat fermented milk products;
juices in diluted form (birch, carrot, apple, plum);
herbal and green teas;
vegetables (carrots, pumpkin);
dried fruits (prunes, raisins).

Meat and fish dishes are steamed or boiled.

List of foods that cause bloating and increased gas formation

Sample diet menu for three days

First day	Second day	The third day
Breakfast	Oatmeal, herbal or green tea, toast with low-fat cheese	white bread, tea, buckwheat porridge	boiled egg, toast with low-fat cheese, glass of dried fruit compote
Lunch	Kefir with 0% fat content	a glass of low-fat kefir	—
Dinner	Low-fat meat broth, steamed meatballs, vegetable salad	boiled fish with rice, diluted apple juice	meat broth, biscuits, green or herbal tea
Afternoon snack	Casserole of low-fat cottage cheese and berries, a glass of dried fruit compote	0% fat yogurt without additives	—
Dinner	Ryazhenka with dry biscuits	semolina porridge with low-fat milk, tea with a slice of lemon and honey	—

If a person suffers from constipation, the diet must be followed for 4 days before the study.

Methods of colon cleansing

The day before rectoscopy, the patient is prescribed bowel preparation. Several methods of cleansing the body before the procedure are widely known.

Cleansing with enemas

It is recommended to give the enema twice the night before with an interval of one hour. Cleansing is carried out by pouring 1–1.5 liters of warm water into the intestines. On the morning of the examination, a similar procedure is repeated several times until the rinsing waters are clear.

Enemas cannot be done if you have:

cracks;
hemorrhoids;
duodenal ulcers.

Esmarch mug, from 150 rub.

Cleansing with laxatives

The large intestine is first cleansed using mild laxatives. The required dosage of the drug is prescribed by the doctor after consultation.

Fortrans

Often, the intestines are prepared for sigmoidoscopy using the medication Fortrans. In case of individual intolerance to the drug, it is replaced with analogue drugs with a laxative effect (for example, Flit, Forlax).

A packet of Fortrans is diluted with a liter of boiled water. You should drink it in small sips. Within an hour, the patient begins to feel the effects of the laxative. You need to take 4 liters of solution per evening. Sometimes it is allowed to use two sachets in the evening and two in the morning, but at least 3-4 hours must pass from the last dose to sigmoidoscopy.

Lavacol, Duphalac, Microlax

The medicine Lavacol is available in the form of sachets with the active substance and acts on the body like Fortrans. There are a number of contraindications. The contents of one sachet are equal to a glass of water. Lavacol is taken in the morning on an empty stomach.

Duphalac does an excellent job of softening feces, which:

cleanses;
enhances intestinal motility.

200g of laxative is diluted with 2 liters of water and drunk in small sips.

Microlax helps in cleansing the intestines and removing waste and toxins from the body. The release form is compact syringes with an active substance that is injected into the rectum. This laxative is used frequently. In the afternoon before the procedure, use 2 syringes alternately every 20 minutes. In the morning, manipulations with Microlax are repeated.

Fleet phospho-soda

The drug retains water in the body and softens stool. The main advantage of Fleet phosphosoda is that the active ingredients of the drug are not absorbed into the blood, but are excreted naturally.

The laxative is not recommended for use by people suffering from:

kidney diseases;
disorders in the functioning of the cardiovascular system.

Flit phospho-soda is not prescribed to people:

with intestinal obstruction;
adhering to a salt-free diet.

The drug is taken the day before sigmoidoscopy.

Are there any contraindications?

Sigmoidoscopy is an examination that cannot be performed for a number of diagnoses. First of all, this is severe bleeding from the rectum, as well as an acute anal fissure. Examination is unacceptable if:

narrowing of the intestinal lumen,
acute inflammatory processes of the peritoneum, for example, peritonitis,
acute form of paraproctitis,
pulmonary and cardiac failure,
mental disorders.

It is also undesirable to carry out the procedure in case of a general aggravated condition – high temperature, weakness.

In addition, you need to know everything about not only sigmoidoscopy itself, but also about preparing for the study.

Photo gallery

The photo shows laxatives that are used to cleanse the large intestine.

Lavacol, 197 rub.

Duphalac, from 300 rub.

Fleet phospho-soda, 659 rub.

Forlax, from 150 rub.

Fortrans, 549 rub.

Microlax, from 357 rub.

Description of the procedure

Now we move on to the description of the procedure itself, and it is worth noting that sigmoidoscopy of the intestine is modern thanks to the flexible optical device that is used during examination, and is an improved method of the same proctoscopy.

Indications for this procedure include stool disorders, as well as prolonged constipation or, conversely, diarrhea.

Intestinal bleeding, and copious discharge of mucus or even pus from the intestine, or chronic hemorrhoids.

Also, sigmoidoscopy of the intestines is an indication for further examinations, such as colonoscopy or irrigoscopy.

What is intestinal irrigoscopy and how it is performed is written here.

If the patient has a serious condition, then this is one of the contraindications to this procedure. Also, acute or inflammatory diseases in the anal area (or the entire anus) are the main contraindication.

The risk of this procedure outweighs its advisability in cases where the patient has severe respiratory failure, as well as cardiac problems, namely cardiovascular pathology.

There are emergency cases when sigmoidoscopy should be performed for almost any patient, for example, with heavy bleeding from the intestine.

Sigmoidoscopy of the intestines is carried out in the office of a proctologist, who must be equipped with special equipment for the study. To perform it, you also do not need painkillers or even anesthesia, but only in some cases, if the patient has an anal fissure.

With the consent of the doctor, you can use local anesthesia only. You should immediately prepare for the fact that before performing sigmoidoscopy of the intestine, the doctor must conduct a digital rectal examination or diagnosis.

To conduct this type of examination, the patient is required to take a certain knee-elbow position, or you can lie on your left side.

After the doctor lubricates the anal passage, the tube itself is inserted there literally 4 or 5 centimeters. Next, air is pumped inward in order to level and smooth out all the folds of the mucous membrane. The doctor should also explain to the patient that while the tube is moving inward, the urge to have a bowel movement may occur. An electric suction is used to remove mucus, possibly fluid and blood that is inside.

Video

If the patient experiences pain, sigmoidoscopy of the intestines must be completed.

Video

The video of the channel “Union of Pediatricians of Russia” describes in detail how to prepare for sigmoidoscopy (colonoscopy, rectosigmoidoscopy) using osmatic laxatives at home.

Do you have any questions? Specialists and readers of the HROMOSOMA website will help you ask a question

Was this article helpful?

Thank you for your opinion!

The article was useful. Please share the information with your friends.

Yes (100.00%)

Please write what is wrong and leave recommendations on the article

Cancel reply

Rate the benefit of the article: Rate the author ( 3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

Discuss the article:

Patient reviews

Tamara V., 52 years old:

I had a rectoscopy 3 weeks ago. They prescribed it because I constantly suffer from constipation, to the point that I go to the toilet bleeding. I won’t say that the procedure was pleasant, it was even a little painful at first, and after it some unpleasant sensations remain for some time. But I can say that this research is very important. Thanks to him, they discovered polyps in my intestines. The doctor said that in time, the disease did not have time to start. So there is nothing wrong with this procedure. Doctors, by the way, explain everything very tactfully and advise.

Vladimir, 59 years old:

I have already undergone rectoscopy 2 times, the procedure is not painful, except that it is morally unpleasant. But if you think about it, it’s no worse than many other examinations. An unpleasant moment - enemas. The first time they forgot to warn me that I needed to take a roll of toilet paper with me)). But in general, rectoscopy is quickly done; this procedure did not take me more than 2 minutes. And the doctors explain the course of the examination, and what needs to be done in preparation and during the procedure.

The approximate average price of sigmoidoscopy in Moscow ranges from 1500 to 3500 rubles:

SM-Clinic (Lesnaya St.) – 1500 rubles;
ON Clinic (Zubovsky Blvd.) – 2000;
Best Clinic (Novocheremushkinskaya St.) – 2420;
Capital clinic network – 2800;
First Surgery (Schukinskaya St.) – 3000;

We recommend reading: Bronchial asthma - causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment

There are also more expensive prices, for example, at the Atlas MC on Kutuzovsky Prospect, the price of sigmoidoscopy is 4,000 rubles.