Fears and pre-colonoscopy anxiety: a scoping review.
Hugo Castro, Nelson Martins, Patrícia Pontífice-Sousa
PMID 41919811WHAT IT FOUND
Across 24 studies, patients awaiting colonoscopy most often feared diagnosis, pain, and complications.
Anxiety was most often linked to knowledge or information, previous colonoscopy experience, and gender.
Key findings
01The review included 24 studies published between 1990 and 2024 that used quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method designs.
02Fear of diagnosis and fear of pain were each reported in nine studies, and fear of medical complications or adverse effects was reported in six.
03The variables most often cited as influencing these experiences were knowledge or information, previous colonoscopy experience, and gender, each reported in eight studies.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This is a scoping review, so it maps how often fears and variables appear across studies rather than showing whether any care reduces anxiety. The reviewers did not assess the methodological quality of the included studies, so the strength of the original evidence is unclear. The search was limited to studies available in full text, and five potentially relevant articles could not be retrieved. The authors note potential language bias. Only the pre-examination period was included, so it says nothing about fears during or after colonoscopy. The included studies were heterogeneous in design and population, and the review did not pool a total number of patients.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this review as proof that pre-procedure education reduces colonoscopy anxiety. It only mapped which fears and variables appeared across studies. The included studies did not test an intervention, and information or health literacy were associated with anxiety in different directions.