title: Hydrogen breath test as an indicator of the quality of colonic preparation for colonoscopy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Breath hydrogen levels after ingestion of polyethylene glycol were evaluated as a method of predicting the quality of colonic preparation.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred patients undergoing nonemergency colonoscopy were recruited for this study. After fasting overnight, they were instructed to ingest a polyethylene glycol solution containing 12 g lactulose at a rate of 50 mL every 5 minutes for 2 hours. During ingestion of the polyethylene glycol solution, breath samples were taken at 15-minute intervals for 240 minutes and breath hydrogen concentration was measured.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The preparation for colonoscopy was judged to be poor in 18% and adequate in 82%. The breath hydrogen levels over 90 minutes were significantly higher in the poor group than in the adequate group. In all patients with a breath hydrogen level less than 10 parts per million at 240 minutes, the preparation was adequate. Conversely, all patients with a poor preparation had a breath hydrogen level of more than 10 ppm at 240 minutes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The hydrogen breath test effectively predicts adequacy of colonic preparation.
authors.affiliation: First Department of Internal Medicine, Toho University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshihisa
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Urita
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hike
authors.forename: Naotaka
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Torii
authors.forename: Yoshinori
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kikuchi
authors.forename: Eiko
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kanda
authors.forename: Masahiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sasajima
authors.forename: Hisashi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ariki
authors.forename: Kazumasa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Miki
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001944:Breath Tests / Q000379:methods*; D002400:Cathartics / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003108:Colonic Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003113:Colonoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005772:Gastrointestinal Transit; D006801:Humans; D006859:Hydrogen / Q000032:analysis*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010349:Patient Compliance; D011336:Probability; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011786:Quality Control; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D007507:Therapeutic Irrigation / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D002400:Cathartics; D006859:Hydrogen