Computed tomography of the colon in elderly people Single contrast barium study is adequate

EDITOR, - Michelle Fink and colleagues are presumably referring to the double contrast barium enema technique when they state that barium enema can be difficult, distressing, and unrewarding in frail elderly patients. 1 We agree that the standard double contrast baruim enema can be unpleasant and un...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:BMJ 1994-06, Vol.308 (6944), p.1639-1640
Main Authors: Boardman, P, Nolan, D J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Barium
Barium Sulfate
Colon - diagnostic imaging
Colonic Neoplasms - diagnostic imaging
Colorectal cancer
Enema - methods
Frail Elderly
Frailty
Humans
Letter
Medical imaging
Older people
Patients
Tomography
Tomography, X-Ray Computed
Tumors
Workloads
Citations: Items that cite this one
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Summary:EDITOR, - Michelle Fink and colleagues are presumably referring to the double contrast barium enema technique when they state that barium enema can be difficult, distressing, and unrewarding in frail elderly patients. 1 We agree that the standard double contrast baruim enema can be unpleasant and unsuccessful in elderly people and that alternative techniques for examining the colon should be evaluated. The technique is capable of showing medium sized polyps as well as carcinomas. Since March 1993 we have performed 117 single contrast examinations on patients aged from 73 to 95 (mean 81) years.
ISSN:0959-8138
1468-5833
DOI:10.1136/bmj.308.6944.1639b