RESUMO
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To compare the efficacy, tolerance and safety between oral sodium phosphate(NaP) and polyethylene glycol(PEG) on bowel preparation.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>One hundred and fifteen inpatients were randomly divided into NaP group and PEG group. The questionnaire was designed for scoring by patients and doctors regarding to tolerance, taste, side effects and cleaning degree etc.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with PEG group, NaP presented better tolerance, lower side effects and higher rate of adequate cleaning quality(P<0.05). NaP could cause electrolytic alterations, such as hyperphosphatemia, hypernatremia, hypocalcemia and hypopotassemia, but these changes were transient and without clinical significance.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Sodium phosphate is safe and effective for bowel preparation, and is better than polyethylene glycol in tolerance.</p>