Preoperative Oral-Bowel Preparation Using Sodium Picosulfate and Magnesium Citrate Combination Powder for Left-Sided Colorectal Cancer: A Prospective Study

This study aimed to determine if induction of sodium picosulfate and magnesium citrate (SPMC) preparation leads to adequate surgery for left-sided colorectal cancer (CRC). Adequate bowel cleansing is vital for safe and accurate colorectal surgery. Ingestion of laxatives for bowel cleansing may be associated with a broad spectrum of adverse effects during surgical intervention. A single-center prospective study was conducted with hospitalized patients scheduled operation for left-sided CRC. All enrolled patients were instructed to consume normal diet until before preparation. Twenty-seven patients underwent preoperative SPMC preparation. The primary endpoint of this study was the 30-day postoperative morbidity rate, which was 23%, and no postoperative complication was higher than Clavien-Dindo grade 3. The primary anastomosis rate was 100%, and there was no anastomotic leakage. The colonic cleansing grades were 1 or 2 according to the bowel preparation scale for surgical assessment in 89% of the patients. The acceptability of the cleansing procedure by the patients assessed by a questionnaire was 85%, and the acceptability of the SPMC preparation by the medical staff was 93%. The surgical procedures included 18 laparoscopies, 6 robotic surgeries, and 3 laparotomies. The median operation time was 165 minutes, and the median blood loss was <50 cc. The median sodium serum concentration was significantly decreased after surgery. Ingestion of an SPMC preparation as a cleansing procedure was judged to be adequate for curative surgery in patients with left-sided colorectal cancer.