To identify factors associated with prolonged cecal intubation time (CIT); to assess the impact of patients’ anthropometric parameters on CIT; and to determine the influence of previous intra-abdominal surgical procedures on CIT.

This retrospective, cross-sectional, single-center study included 201 patients who underwent total colonoscopy under procedural sedation/analgesia between January 2025 and August 2025. Data collected included age, sex, height, weight, body mass index (BMI), CIT, presence of diverticulosis and hemorrhoids, and history of intra-abdominal surgery. Exclusion criteria were failure to achieve cecal intubation, inadequate bowel cleansing, defined as Boston Bowel Preparation Scale (BBPS) score 0 and a history of colorectal resection. The association between CIT and demographic/anthropometric parameters, as well as prior surgical history, was evaluated.

A total of 100 male and 101 female patients participated in the study. Male patients had significantly lower CIT values (5.0 (4.0–7.0) min) compared with female patients (8.0 (5.5–10.0) min; p < 0.001). Patients who had undergone previous abdominal surgery had significantly higher CIT (7.0 (5.0–11.0) min) than those without prior surgery (6.0 (4.0–8.0) min; p = 0.012). BMI correlated significantly with CIT (rho = –0.308; p < 0.001). In a linear regression model, lower BMI (β = –0.375, p < 0.001), female gender (β = 0.267, p < 0.001), and previous abdominal surgery (β = 0.353, p < 0.001) were independent predictors of prolonged CIT, explaining 26.4% of the variance (R² = 0.264).

Female sex, low BMI, and a history of prior intra-abdominal surgical procedures emerged as independent predictors of prolonged CIT in a linear regression model.