This past week the FDA approved a lower-volume colonoscopy preparation called PREPOPIK (funny name.)
The Baltimore Sun on-line reports:
Prepopik is a combination of sodium picosulfate, magnesium oxide and anhydrous citric acid with an orange flavoring. It is taken in two doses: either both doses the day before the colonoscopy or one dose the day before and one the morning of the exam.
In two large clinical trials, the drug was compared to conventional preparation. The two doses given the day before were as effective at cleansing the bowel as the conventional procedure, while the doses given the night before and the morning of the procedure were more effective. Cleaning the bowel thoroughly is important because it removes materials that can interfere with identifying polyps.
A lower volume prep will be better tolerated and greatly appreciate by those of us who have had to endure the routine preparation for colonoscopy.
This new preparation appears safe and has been used in other countries for a number of years and has 2.8 million patient experiences with the product. This is encouraging as previous low-volume preps have run into trouble, including Fleet’s Phopho Soda which was taken off the market due to kidney injury.