Right or Left for Colonoscopy?

Does Right Rather Than Left Starting Position Lead to Quicker Completion of COLonoscopy?

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT02305706

Acronym

ROLCOL

Enrollment

163

Registered

2014-12-03

Start date

2014-04-30

Completion date

2014-11-30

Last updated

2014-12-03

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Colonoscopy

Keywords

insertion, patient comfort

Brief summary

Colonoscopy is technically challenging. Conventionally, colonoscopy begins with patients positioned in the left lateral position. However, few published studies have explored alternatives and there is consequently little evidence to support left lateral starting position over alternatives.

Detailed description

We aim to perform a randomised controlled trial of right versus left lateral starting position for colonoscopy. Primary outcome: time to caecum. Secondary outcomes: patient comfort; volume of sedation used.

Interventions

PROCEDUREstarting position in colonoscopy

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Masking

NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

* above 18 years of age, * informed consent, * routine or urgent procedures

Exclusion criteria

* emergency colonoscopy, * scheduled intubation therapy

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
time to caecum (insertion time from rectum to caecum)	30 minutes	insertion time from rectum to caecum

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
patient comfort (visual analogue score)	5 minutes	patient comfort by visual analogue score

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 26, 2026