Study design
A single-centre, randomized controlled trial was performed in the Endoscopy Department of Ningbo First Hospital from September 2018 to June 2019. The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Ningbo First Hospital (2018-R014) and was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (ID: NCT03619122) on 7/8/2018. The trial complied with the Declaration of Helsinki and written informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to inclusion. Moreover, standardized bowel manual preparation was performed for all participants. Patients who received colonoscopy were randomly assigned to the traditional colonoscopy (TC) group or second forward-view examination (SFE) group.
Participants
Outpatients (18-75 years old) who were scheduled to undergo colonoscopy at Ningbo First Hospital from September 2018 to June 2019 were recruited. Patients were excluded if they had a history of colon resection, inflammatory bowel disease or polyposis syndromes, or poor bowel preparation (Boston Bowel Preparation Scale [BBPS] score < 2 in any segment of the colon) [14]. Participants who were unable to provide informed consent, were not successful in achieving caecal intubation, or were taking active antithrombotic therapy preventing polypectomy were also excluded.
Randomization and colonoscopy procedures
The computer-generated randomization numbers were sealed in an envelope. Included participants were randomly assigned to one of the two groups: the second forward-view examination (SFE) group, in which the proximal colon was examined twice in forward view; or the traditional colonoscopy (TC) group, in which a standardized colonoscopy procedure was performed. Complete caecal intubation was defined when the ileocecal valve and appendicular orifice were seen. The proximal colon was defined from the caecum to the hepatic flexure.
All participants received a single 2 L dose of polyethylene glycol (PEG) 5-6 hours before the scheduled examination time. An education video of bowel preparation was delivered to all of them by mobile phone. Baseline demographic characteristics including age, sex, weight, height, previous history of surgery, family history of colorectal cancer, etc. were recorded by one of the assistants prior to colonoscopy. All colonoscopies were conducted by one of four gastroenterological endoscopists who perform approximately 500-800 colonoscopies annually. High-definition colonoscopes (Olympus CF-HQ290I/CF-H290I/CF-HQ290ZI, Japan) were used for all procedures.
All colonoscopies were performed without anaesthesia. Colonoscope insertion was performed in a routine manner. After successful insertion into the caecum, the scope was withdrawn to the hepatic flexure allowing the colonic mucosa to be carefully examined. At this moment, the sealed envelope with a random number was opened. If the patient was allocated to the TC group, the scope was directly withdrawn to the anus. If the patient was assigned to the SFE group, the colonoscope was advanced to the caecum again for a second inspection of the right side of the colon, and then passed to the anus. The withdrawal time was required to be at least 6 minutes. The time for the second examination was not included in the withdrawal time. Whether the patient’s position was shifted during the procedure was decided by the operators.
For all endoscopies, caecal intubation time, withdrawal time, and second examination time were documented by assistants during the procedure, exclusive of therapeutic time. The adequacy of bowel preparation was scaled according to the BBPS by endoscopists. The number, size, location, and morphology of polyps were also recorded. Endoscopic polypectomy or biopsy was performed when necessary. The samples were submitted for pathological assessment. The size of the polyp was measured by visual comparison with opened forceps or snare.
Statistical analysis
Statistical analysis was carried out by using SPSS version 22.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). The sample size was calculated on the basis of a previous study. We set the proximal ADR in the traditional group at 15%, and the proximal ADR in the second forward-view examination group was hypothesized to be 30%. A minimal sample size of 185 participants per group would be required with a significance level of 0.05. The statistical test used in the calculation was the two-sided pooled Z test. Therefore, the investigators aimed to recruit a total of 400 participants.
The primary outcome was to compare the proximal polyp and adenoma detection rates (proximal PDR/ADR) between the two groups. The proximal ADR was defined as the proportion of patients with at least one proximal adenoma. The proximal PDR was defined as the proportion of patients with at least one proximal polyp. Secondary outcomes were overall polyp detection rate (PDR), overall ADR and advanced adenoma rate. An advanced lesion was defined as a lesion more than 10 mm in diameter, or with a villous component of histology or high-grade dysplasia. The advanced lesion detection rate was defined as the proportion of cases, in which more than one advanced lesion was found. In the SFE group, polyps detected on the second examination were defined as missed polyps. The numbers of polyps and adenomas per patient were also calculated.
Continuous variables are reported as the mean and standard deviation (SD), or the median and range, according to normal or skewed distribution, respectively. Categorical variables are expressed as percentages. Unpaired Student’s t-test was used to compare normally distributed continuous data; Pearson’s χ2 test was used to compare categorical variables. A p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.