Frequency of prolonged colonoscopy and its associated factors among adults: An experience of A Tertiary Care Hospital in Karachi, Pakistan.

Objective: To determine frequency and factors associated with prolong cecal intubation among adults undergoing colonoscopy in a tertiary care hospital. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Department of Gastroenterology, Liaquat National Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan. Period: September 2022 to June 2023. Material & Methods: The study comprised patients undergoing elective colonoscopies, regardless of gender and age, who were at least eighteen years old. Cecal intubation time longer than ten minutes was regarded as a prolonged colonoscopy duration. The Aronchick scale, which is used to evaluate the quality of bowel preparation. The association between the patient's characteristics and the prolonged cecal intubation was investigated using logistic regression. P-values were considered statistically significant if they were less than or equal to 0.05. Results: Total 281 patients were enrolled into the study. Median age of patients was 40 (IQR=30-50) years and majority were males 66.5%. Median cecal intubation length and time was 90 (IQR=80-100) cm and 7 (IQR=5-10) minutes. Prolonged intubation was seen among nearly one-fifth of total patients (19.1%). Odds of prolonged cecal intubation were significantly lower patients of age <50 years, relatively higher body mass index (BMI), out-patients, patients with excellent quality of bowel preparation and among those cases in which colonoscopies were performed by consultant. Conclusion: Proportion of prolonged cecal intubation was high particularly among older age, female gender, patients with lower BMI, past surgeries and poor quality of bowel preparation.