594 Postgrad Med J: first published as 10.1136/pgmj.2004.031690 on 2 September 2005. Downloaded from ORIGINAL ARTICLE Comparative study of enema retention and preference in ulcerative colitis J R Ingram, J Rhodes, B K Evans, R G Newcombe, G A O Thomas ............................................................................................................................... Postgrad Med J 2005;81:594–598. doi: 10.1136/pgmj.2004.031690 Background: Therapeutic enemas are often used to treat active colitis but their retention may be limited because of urgency to defecate. Some preparations may be better retained and tolerated than others See end of article for because of their physical properties. authors’ affiliations ....................... Aim: To compare patient preference and retention of four therapeutic enemas, including a nicotine enema, in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). Correspondence to: Methods: Twenty four patients with active UC received the four trial enemas—corticosteroid, 5-amino Dr G A O Thomas, Department of salicylate (5-ASA), and nicotine liquid enemas and a corticosteroid foam, in a randomised order, taking Gastroenterology, one enema on each of four successive nights. Patients scored them 1 to 4 for ease of administration and University Hospital of retention, degree of abdominal bloating, and for their overall preference. Wales, Heath Park, Cardiff CF14 4XW, UK; Gareth. Results: Fifteen patients rated nicotine their overall favourite or second favourite, compared with 14 for
[email protected]. corticosteroid foam and 11 for 5-ASA and corticosteroid liquids, but this was not significant (p = 0.302). nhs.uk Overall, there was no significant difference in overnight retention. However, the nicotine enema tended to be less well retained in patients with milder urgency but a higher proportion retained it overnight with Submitted 16 December 2004 more severe urgency (p = 0.031 compared with 5-ASA enema).