Abstract:Objective To explore the efficacy, patient tolerability and safety of 1.5 L low volume optimized lactulose regimen for bowel preparation . Methods This single-center, randomized, controlled, blinded study enrolled 280 patients, who were consecutively numbered according to the order of signing the informed consent. Using a pre-generated random number table, participants were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to either the 1.5 L low-volume optimized lactulose (Lactulose, LAC) group or the 3 L polyethylene glycol (Polyethylene Glycol, PEG) group. Patients in the LAC group received a single oral dose of 150 mL LAC solution combined with 1500 mL diluted LAC, while patients in the PEG group received the conventional 3 L split-dose PEG regimen. The primary outcome was the adequacy of bowel preparation, assessed using the Boston Bowel Preparation Scale (BBPS). Secondary outcomes included incidence of adverse events, willingness to repeat bowel preparation, sleep quality, polyp detection rate (PDR), adenoma detection rate (ADR), insertion and withdrawal times, and cecal intubation rate, in order to evaluate the efficacy, tolerability, and safety of the two regimens. Results A total of 135 patients in the LAC group and 132 patients in the PEG group were included. Baseline characteristics, including age and sex, were comparable between groups. Efficacy: The LAC group showed significantly higher adequate bowel preparation rates and BBPS scores than the PEG group (adequate preparation: 91.9% vs. 77.3%,χ2= 10.91,P=0.001;total BBPS score: 7.73±1.46 vs. 6.88±1.49, t=4.74,P<0.001).Tolerability: Willingness to repeat bowel preparation was higher in the LAC group than in the PEG group (65.9% vs. 52.3%,χ2=5.15,P=0.023). The incidence of abdominal pain was lower in the LAC group (3.0% vs. 9.8%,χ2= 5.31,P=0.021). Other adverse events, including bloating (23.0% vs. 29.5%, χ2=.50,P=0.221), nausea (38.5% vs. 31.1%,χ2= 1.64,P=0.201), vomiting (22.2% vs. 14.4%,χ2=2.73,P=0.099), dizziness (6.7% vs. 4.5%, χ2=0.57,P=0.452), and dry mouth (14.8% vs. 3.8%, χ2=9.56,P=0.002), showed no clinically significant differences except dry mouth. Safety: Electrolyte levels before and after bowel preparation were within the normal range in both groups, and no serious adverse events were observed. Conclusion The 1.5 L low-volume optimized lactulose regimen can be applied in clinical practice.