Aspiration: A possible severe complication in colonoscopy preparation of elderly people by orthograde intestine lavage

Total gut lavage is a widely recommended method in preparation for colonosc opy and there are almost no reports of severe complications in the literatu re. Application of orthograde ravage by a nasogastric tube may be necessary in disorientated patients, assisted by slight medical sedation, if necessa ry. Despite absolutely correct appliance of the method, a case of severe as piration with subsequent hypoxemia and stroke in a senile female patient, s uffering from a common hiatal hernia, is described.