COMBINED USE OF FIBEROPTIC SIGMOIDOSCOPY AND BARIUM ENEMA ON THE SAME DAY

Abstract

Endoscopy and radiography are complementary rather than competitive procedures in the diagnosis of the large intestine, and diagnostic accuracy will be greatly enhanced by their combined use. Colonic diseases such as cancer or polyp occur most frequently in the rectum and sigmoid colon and barium enema sometimes fails to demonstrate a lesion. Therefore, fiberoptic sigmoidoscopy in combination with barium enema seems to be valuable. Two procedures on different days may cause diagnostic discrepancies and two bowel preparations will give much trouble to the patient. We, therefore, attempted to have both barium enema and fiberoptic sigmoidoscopy in 46 patients on the same day. The barium enema showed satisfactory visualization and no adverse effects of preceding fiberoptic sigmoidoscopy on barium enema were noted. It is concluded that from a practical point of view, the combined use of fiberoptic sigmoidocopy and barium enema on the same day is very useful. There are many advantages in this method as the followings : 1) Diagnostic accuracy can be raised in the lesions of the rectum and sigmoid colon. 2) This method can save time and trouble for the patient. 3) This method can eliminate diagnostic discrepancies caused by the two diagnostic methods done on different days. 4) This method may give significant diagnostic information to a clinician earlier.