• Mar Gutiérrez-Santiago, Maite García-Unzueta, José A Amado, Jesús González-Macías, and José A Riancho.
• Servicio de Medicina Interna, Hospital Universitario Marqués de Valdecilla, Universidad de Cantabria, Santander, Cantabria, Spain.
• Med Clin Barcelona. 2006 Feb 11; 126 (5): 161-4.

Background And ObjectiveAn adequate bowel cleansing is needed prior to radiologic and endoscopic procedures. However, it may have a number of adverse effects, including abnormalities of calcium-phosphorus homeostasis.Patients And MethodThis was an observational prospective study in a hospital practice setting. We included consecutive inpatients (n = 47) subjected to a barium enema or colon endoscopy. Prior cleansing was done as indicated by the attending physician by using a low-salt oral poliethylenglicol (PEG) solution, oral sodium phosphate or a phosphate-containing enema.ResultsPEG solution frequently caused mild increases in serum sodium, and decreases in serum potassium. Oral phosphate caused a significant increase in serum phosphorus and parathormone concentrations, whereas it decreased serum calcium. Mild hyperphosphatemia was found in 57% of cases, and hypocalcemia in 36%. Phosphate enema also increased serum phosphate, causing mild hyperphosphatemia (33% cases). Although in the whole subgroup of enema-treated patients there were no significant changes in serum calcium, mild hypocalcemia was found in 27% cases.ConclusionsBowel cleansing procedures, particularly those using oral phosphate salts, frequently induce hyperphosphatemia and other abnormalities in serum electrolytes. Although usually transitory and without overt clinical consequences, clinicians should be aware of this potential risk, especially in elderly patients and those with impaired renal function.

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