Air enema used in the evaluation of acute colitis. A comparison between instant radiography and endoscopy.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to evaluate air enema as a method of assessing acute colitis.


METHODS
Twenty-seven patients with symptoms of acute colitis underwent plain abdominal radiography, air enema, and colonoscopy within 48 h. The films were evaluated by 3 observers with different levels of experience, both independently and together, and the results were then compared to the findings at endoscopy.


RESULTS
Air enema visualized a greater part of the colon than plain abdominal radiography. When air enema was compared to endoscopy as the reference, it showed good correlation, with a positive predictive value of 92% (sensitivity 62%, specificity 85%). Evaluation of the rectum was less accurate, a finding that emphasized the importance of rigid sigmoidoscopy.


CONCLUSIONS
Air enema is a useful diagnostic method in acute colitis, it is easily performed and tolerated well with no observed complications. It is also easy to interpret, as shown by a high level of agreement (kappa = 0.67) among the 3 independent observers with very different levels of experience.
Laveskog
A
A
Department of Radiology, Huddinge University Hospital, Sweden.
Måre
K
K
Granqvist
S
S
Ståhlberg
D
D
D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003092:Colitis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003106:Colon / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D003113:Colonoscopy; D004733:Enema / Q000379:methods*; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D011029:Pneumoradiography / Q000379:methods*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity