Govert Veldhuijzen

97 CBE is non-inferior to nurse counselling prior to colonoscopy, a multicenter RCT Satisfaction Patient satisfaction (defined as willingness to return) scores on the education before colonoscopy, were high but not statistically different between both groups. The nurse counselling group scored a mean of 8.13 (1.35) out of 10, whereas the CBE group scored an 8.55 (1.30), p=0.059. Second, the NET-promoter scores recorded were +40.9% versus +46.3% respectively, which is also not significant amongst groups (p=0.45). (Table 3.) Information re-call Information re-call was tested using a 10-item questionnaire. There was no significant difference between groups, with 7.18 (1.17) in the nurse counselling group, versus 7.24 (1.06) in the CBE group. (Table 3.) Endoscopy When asked whether patients required additional information prior to the colonoscopy in the CBE group, 78.5% of the patients reported negative and were directly scheduled after CBE. In 21.5% of the cases, there was an extra contact moment, 18.5% by telephone call, 3.0% at the outpatient clinic. A total of 70 endoscopists were involved in the trial. DISCUSSION This multicenter randomized controlled trial, evaluated computer based education as an educational tool for patient counselling prior to colonoscopy. We found in our intention- to-treat as well as per protocol analysis that CBE is non inferior to nurse counselling in terms of bowel preparation. At the same time, CBE reduced 79% of patient visits to the outpatient clinic compared to conventional nurse counselling. An added value of CBE is the lower proportion of patients who report sickness absence leave prior to endoscopy. CBE, with two-way communication in place, functions therefore as a time and resource effective nexus between patients and the endoscopy unit. We also investigated psychological parameters such as stress or anxiety that may accompany (preparation for) a colonoscopy but found that there was no difference in trait (or ‘character’) anxiety scores between groups. Similarly, the state (or “moment”) anxiety scores, both after education and prior to colonoscopy, were comparable between the groups both after receiving education and just prior to colonoscopy, as were the anxiety levels before colonoscopy. Finally, CBE shows high scores for patient satisfaction and information re-call at levels similar to those after nurse counselling. (Appendix 3s.) There have been several comparable studies that have used various means of electronic communication. One study enriched patient communication by sending 5