Abstract:Objective To investigate the efficacy and safety of a low-volume polyethylene glycol-electrolyte solution (PEG-ELS) in combination with Shouhui Laxative Capsule (SHLC) compared to a standard high-volume regimen (4L PEG-ELS) for bowel preparation before colonoscopy in patients with chronic functional constipation (CFC).Methods This was a single-center, observer-blind, randomized controlled study that recruited 282 patients with CFC who underwent colonoscopy from January 2021 to December 2021 and were randomly assigned to the SHLC + 2 L PEG-ELS group, SHLC+3 L PEG-ELS group and 4 L PEG-ELS group. The primary outcomes were the Boston bowel preparation scale (BBPS) and patient bowel preparation tolerance.Results 240 patients were eventually included. The BBPS scale of SHLC + 2 L PEG-ELS, SHLC + 3 L PEG-ELS, and 4 L PEG-ELS groups were (6.22 ± 1.09), (6.26 ± 0.97), and (7.06 ± 0.63), respectively, and the difference was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). The differences in segmental BBPS among the three groups in the left colon [(2.32 ± 0.72), (2.41 ± 0.64) and (2.58 ± 0.59)], middle colon [(2.18 ± 0.83), (2.26 ± 0.76) and (2.44 ± 0.81)] or right colon [(1.67 ± 0.71), (1.72 ± 0.67) and (2.23 ± 0.66)] were not statistically significant (P > 0.05). The Mayo Tolerance Questionnaire showed that the patient tolerance and willingness to repeat bowel preparation in the 4 L PEG-ELS group were inferior to those in the SHLC + 3 L PEG-ELS group and SHLC+2L PEG-ELS group (P = 0.007 and P = 0.021). Compared with the 4 L PEG-ELS group, the SHLC + 2 L PEG-ELS group and SHLC+3 L PEG-ELS groups had an earlier time between first bowel movements (P = 0.036) and an increased number of bedtime bowel movements (P = 0.035) after taking the drug, but there was no significant difference in the total number of bowel movements (P > 0.05). There was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse events after bowel preparation among the three groups (P > 0.05).Conclusion For bowel preparation in patients with CFC, low-volume PEG-ELS combined with SHLC may be a novel strategy, which greatly improves patient tolerance and compliance, and its bowel preparation efficacy and safety are comparable to 4 L PEG-ELS standard scheme equivalent.