Addition of senna improves quality of colonoscopy preparation with magnesium citrate

Table 1 Demographic and clinical data

	Citramag-only (n = 160)	Citramag/senna (n = 182)
Male/female	76/84	97/85
Age	60 ± 13	58 ± 14
History of bowel resection	6	9
Sedation
Fentanyl iv (&mgr;g)	75 (0-200)	75 (0-200)
Midazolam iv (mg)	4 (0-10)	4 (0-10)
Polyp detection rate	37 (23.1%)	63 (34.6%)1
Colorectal cancer	17	16
Completion rate	86% (adjusted 92%)	92% (adjusted 97%)2

Data are presented as mean and standard deviation or n and percentage as appropriate.

¹P < 0.03,

²P = 0.07.

Table 2 Quality of colon cleansing as evaluated by the endoscopist n (%)

	Citramag-only (n = 160)	Citramag/senna (n = 182)
Good	20 (12.5)	41 (22.5)
Satisfactory	88 (55.0)	107 (58.8)
Poor	41 (25.6)	26 (14.3)
Unacceptable	11 (6.9)	8 (4.4)

Table 3 Proportions of patients with side effects reported under bowel cleansing using citramag only or the combination of senna and citramag

Side effect	Treatment group	None (%)	Mild (%)	Moderate (%)	Severe (%)	Extreme (%)	P-value1
Nausea	Citramag	83.5	7.9	7.9	0.7	0	NS
	Citramag/senna	76.5	10.3	12.6	0.6	0
Vomiting	Citramag	94.8	2.6	2.6	0	0	NS
	Citramag/senna	92.6	3.4	4	0	0
Bloating	Citramag	88.1	5.3	6.6	0	0	NS
	Citramag/senna	81.7	7.4	10.3	0.6	0
Abdominal pain	Citramag	90.1	6	3.9	0	0	P < 0.0003
	Citramag/senna	70.8	16	12	1.2	0
Headache	Citramag	95.4	3.9	0.7	0	0	NS
	Citramag/senna	93.7	3.4	2.9	0	0

¹P-value (significant at the 0.05 level) was obtained using a χ²-test to compare the frequency of side effects in treatment groups.