title: The role of barium enema in detecting colorectal disease. A radiologist's perspective.
abstract: The single-contrast barium enema examination remains useful for patients with acute diseases such as bowel obstruction, diverticulitis, appendicitis, and fistulas. It is also the procedure of choice for those patients who are too elderly, debilitated, or ill to cooperate with the maneuvers necessary for a double-contrast examination. The double-contrast technique is more sensitive than the single-contrast technique for detection of polyps, early inflammatory bowel disease, and lesions of the rectum. In the older population, there has been an increase in the incidence of colonic polyps and carcinomas in the right side of the colon. This emphasizes the need to examine the entire colon in these patients. The double-contrast barium enema is a safe, accurate, and cost-effective tool for accomplishing this. It is also recommended as the initial procedure in the examination of patients with positive results on fecal occult blood testing.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine, Augusta 30912.
authors.forename: S N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Freedman
mesh_terms: D001466:Barium Sulfate; D003111:Colonic Polyps / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology; D004733:Enema / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology; D011859:Radiography; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D001466:Barium Sulfate