Ottawa Bowel Preparation Scale (Colonoscopy)
Ottawa Bowel Preparation Scale for colonoscopy (Rostom 2004).
Open the calculator → Runs in your browser. Data leaves only if you deliberately send a problem report from the interactive tool.
Example
- Right/ascending colon cleanliness
- 1 — good (residue, mucosa still visible)
- Mid colon (transverse + descending) cleanliness
- 2 — fair (visible after suctioning)
- Rectosigmoid cleanliness
- 1 — good (residue, mucosa still visible)
- Overall fluid quantity
- 1 — moderate amount
Result: Ottawa bowel prep 5/14 (lower is better).
The tool opens with these values already filled in. Replace them with your own.
What the result means
- Segments
- right/ascending, mid (transverse + descending), and rectosigmoid, each 0 excellent, 1 good, 2 fair, 3 poor, 4 inadequate.
- Fluid
- one overall whole-colon score: 0 small, 1 moderate, 2 large amount of fluid.
- Total 0-14
- segments (0-12) + fluid (0-2); LOWER is better (0 = perfect). No fixed adequate/inadequate cutoff in the original paper.
What you enter
- Right/ascending colon cleanliness (0 excellent - 4 inadequate)
- Mid colon (transverse + descending) cleanliness (0-4)
- Rectosigmoid cleanliness (0-4)
- Overall fluid quantity (0 small, 1 moderate, 2 large)
How this is calculated
Rostom A, Jolicoeur E. Validation of a new scale for the assessment of bowel preparation quality. Gastrointest Endosc. 2004;59(4):482-486. Read the source ↗
A reference and educational tool. Not medical, legal, or financial advice, and not a substitute for clinician judgment.