An Abdominal Compression Device Reduces Cecal Intubation Time for Some Obese Patients Undergoing Colonoscopy.

Looping is a common problem during colonoscopy that prolongs procedure time. We aimed to determine the efficacy and safety of ColoWrap, an external abdominal compression device, with respect to insertion time and other procedural outcomes.We performed a prospective study of outpatients undergoing elective colonoscopy (40-80 years old; mean age, 60.5 years) at endoscopy facilities in the University of North Carolina Hospitals, from April 2013 through March 2014. Subjects were randomly assigned to groups that received either ColoWrap (n=175) or a sham device (control, n=175) during colonoscopy. Colonoscopists and staff were blinded to the application. The primary outcome was cecal intubation time (CIT). Secondary outcomes included use of manual pressure and position change.The mean CIT was similar for the control and ColoWrap groups (6.69 min vs 6.67 min; P=.98). There were no statistical differences between groups in the frequency of manual pressure (45% for controls vs 37% for ColoWrap group, P=.13) or position changes (4% for controls vs 2% for ColoWrap group, P=.36) between groups. Among patients with body mass index of 30-40 (n=78), CIT was significantly lower for patients who underwent ColoWrap (4.69 min) than controls (6.10 min) (P=.03). Adverse events were similar between groups.In patients undergoing elective colonoscopy, application of an external abdominal compression device did not improve CIT or affect the frequency of ancillary maneuvers. It appears to benefit patients with body mass indices of 30-40, but further studies are needed. ColoWrap appears to be safe and could reduce looping in a subgroup of patients undergoing colonoscopy. ClinicalTrials.gov no: NCT02025504.