Patient comfort and quality in colonoscopy

Table 1 Five-point scale of nurse-reported comfort levels

Nurse-reported comfort levels	Descriptors
No discomfort	Talking/comfortable throughout
Minimal discomfort	1 or 2 episodes of mild discomfort with no distress
Mild discomfort	More than 2 episodes of discomfort without distress
Moderate discomfort	Significant discomfort experienced several times with some distress
Severe discomfort	Frequent discomfort with significant distress

Table 2 Data completeness on colonoscopies performed from 2008-2011

Variable	Total number of colonoscopies with missing data	Percent of colonoscopies with complete data
CIR	0	100%
NRCL	520	95%
PE	1647	84%
Midazolam	62	99%
Opiates	65	99%
Polyp detection	3863	71%

CIR: Caecal intubation rate; NRCL: Nurse-reported comfort levels; PE: Patient experience.

Table 3 Improvements in key performance indicators between 2008-2011

Year	CIR	NRCL-45	PE-W	Midazolam, mg (mean dose)	PDR
2008	93.3%	10.0%	5.6%	2.3	29.6%
2009	93.4%	7.8%	4.2%	2.0	27.4%
2010	94.6%	7.6%	4.1%	1.8	31.9%
2011	95.9%	5.8%	3.7%	1.7	37.7%

CIR: Caecal intubation rate; NRCL: Nurse-reported comfort levels; PE-W: Worse patient experience; PDR: Polyp detection rate.