questions about colonoscopy procedure

[tonka3]

I am new to this area of practice and have had a lot of confusion from who does what and now I have more questions. How long does a colonoscopy generally take? I know with my doctor he usually takes at least 20 minutes but today he was doing them in 10-13 minutes and I mean the entire thing from the time the colon was started until they were recieved by the recovery nurse. Isn't that kinda too fast? Also, how long do patients usually stay after recieving demerol and versed which is what we use, I have seen several sites that say 1-2 hrs. for the sedation to wear off but I don't recall seeing any patients stay with us much longer than 30 minutes once they're done, even one who had to have amomnia salts to brign him around? This is really bugging me, so any responses form experienced GI nurses is appreciated. THANKS!!

[vsking1]

In the GI lab I worked at we had procedures scheduled every 30 minutes no matter if it was an EGD, Colon or both. The EGD would last 5-10 min max and the colons often times would be less than 15. The 30 minutes was the time to get the pt in the procedure room, sedated and then to recovery. It was sometimes impossible to complete the documentation for one when you were ready to move on the the next pt. I don't have my exact source, but there was an article that was put out about 2 years ago that said if the colonoscopy was less than 12 minutes long, there was a higher likelihood that a polyp would be missed. Basically there is a standard out there for the MD's. We did have one MD who was so proud of himself because he could get to the cecum in 90 seconds. He spent majority of his time on the way out.

In the recovery phase, we would do a full 30 minutes of post op vitals, then start to get them up and dressed. By 15 minutes if they were arousable we would sit them up in bed and offer them juice or water (as long as they had passed gas - for colons - and the stomach was soft). If we had to use reversal meds then we kept them a full hour of vitals and then sent them home. Sometimes they became nauseated and then we would just keep encouraging them to pass gas and we would keep them for at least 15 more minutes. Generally speaking we would have them out of the clinic within 35-40 minutes. We most often used Fentanyl and Versed for sedation, but had one MD preferred Demerol for the narcotic. We sent the caregiver with the post op diagnosis (polyps, tics, etc - not pathology of course) and instructions and the MD's office number and encouraged them to call with any questions or concerns. We rarely had a call made to our clinic about a problem.

Sounds like things are pretty similar to what I am used to. Hope that helps!

[Chuckie]

We measure cecum time which is after reaching cecum desired time to exit is 7 minutes. Some doc's can get to cecum with in a minute some take much longer.

Recovery is 30 minutes usually let patient sleep 10 minutes then get them a drink and take off the O2. Get them dressed up in a chair to wait for Dr to talk to them. A lot of patients would sleep all day if you let them we have two spaces in recover room per doctor so if one patient takes longer than this routine we are in trouble.

[darne20]

I just had a colonoscopy and it probably took a little longer because it was without sedation. The doc who did mine told me that she's in no race to reach the cecum; slow and easy lessens the chance of perforation. The withdrawl time was over 10 minutes; probably because she was so careful and explaining everything to me. I'm sure that the entire exam can be done in 10 minutes, but I would doubt the quality of the exam.

[jbmurray]

I am a new member, and I have a particular question about colonoscopies...but the "colonoscopy/alternate drugs" thread is closed. So I hope it is ok to post here.

I am getting ready for my next Colonoscopy. I wonder if anyone knows re the use of acupuncture for anesthesia/pain management for this procedure...I found one small study on Google...but Acupuncture has a long history of successful anesthesia, especially in China where it is supported by health practitioners. thank you