The Impact of a Smartphone App on the Quality of Pediatric Colonoscopy Preparations

Stony Brook University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Pediatric ALL

Treatments: Device: Smartphone App "SB Colonoscopy Prep"; Other: Written Instruction

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT04590105

1132702

Details and patient eligibility

About

The investigators developed a smartphone app that guides pediatric patients and their families through colonoscopy prep in an attempt to see if an app could improve the colonoscopy process.

Full description

The investigators created a smartphone app designed for pediatric patients and their families that informs patients about their colonoscopy procedure, alerts them when to take their medications throughout the hours-long colonoscopy prep process and tells them when to arrive to the endoscopy suite. The investigators designed a study to determine if this app will yield improved colonoscopy cleanouts, better patient understanding of the procedure, fewer calls to the GI service and more punctual arrival times to the endoscopy suite compared to patients who receive written instructions that do not actively interact with the patient before, during or after their colonoscopy prep.

Enrollment: 42 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 5 to 18 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Aged 5-18 years scheduled to undergo a diagnostic and/or therapeutic colonoscopy

Exclusion criteria

• Patients who had undergone a colonoscopy within the past one year
• Patients admitted for a nasogastric (NG) cleanout
• Patients requiring colonoscopy preparation medication other than Polyethylene Glycol
• Patients with poor understanding of English.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Supportive Care

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Triple Blind

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42 participants in 2 patient groups

App Subject

Experimental group

Description:

Users who were assigned to use a smartphone app downloaded a free app from the iOS App or Google Play stores titled "SB Colonoscopy Prep." The app informed subjects about their colonoscopy procedure, alerts them when to take their medications throughout the hours-long colonoscopy prep process and tells them when to arrive to the endoscopy suite.

Treatment:

Device: Smartphone App "SB Colonoscopy Prep"

Written Instruction Subjects

Active Comparator group

Description:

Subjects in the control group were given a three-page document that described the procedure and instructed users on how to take the preparation medications. The written instructions had a list of frequently asked questions about colonoscopies and the URL of a website where users could view the animated video that was included in the app. The written instructions also contained the time and date of the procedure. All subjects were instructed to arrive one hour before their scheduled procedure.

Treatment:

Other: Written Instruction