Gastrointestinal Diseases and Complete Gastrointestinal Barium Meal Examination

Gastrointestinal diseases are common in daily life and can have a significant impact on patients' health once they occur. The situation of gastrointestinal diseases is complex because it is not easy to observe inside the body. Therefore, it is necessary to use a complete gastrointestinal barium meal examination to clarify the internal conditions. Many people undergo the complete gastrointestinal barium meal examination for the first time and are not clear about the specific items to be examined. So, what is the complete gastrointestinal barium meal examination for? Let's take a look below.

1. What is the Complete Gastrointestinal Barium Meal Examination?

The complete gastrointestinal barium meal examination is an imaging diagnostic method for gastrointestinal diseases through oral administration of barium and X-ray fluoroscopy. This examination can not only detect diseases of the stomach and duodenum, but also observe diseases of the small intestine and large intestine. It can diagnose diseases such as gastritis, ulcer, duodenal stagnation, diverticulum, tumor, chronic appendicitis, redundant colon, and sigmoid colon protrusion.

2. Procedure of Complete Gastrointestinal Barium Meal Imaging

1. Perform chest and abdominal fluoroscopy first to assess the presence of cardiopulmonary diseases, metastatic tumors, or lung cancer. Abdominal examination mainly focuses on the presence of unpenetrable high-density X-ray shadows, as well as contraindications such as obstruction or perforation.

2. Observe the esophagus at a 45-degree right anterior oblique angle.

3. Repeat the observation at a 45-degree left anterior oblique angle. Double oblique positions allow for observation of the esophagus from different angles. In necessary cases, the doctor may require the patient to lie down for further observation.

4. Lie down on the bed and quickly turn the body from right to left, usually 1-2 circles, and then lie on your back to observe the stomach. This allows the barium to coat the gastric mucosa as much as possible, enabling more detailed subsequent observation.

5. Adopt a supine position with a right anterior oblique posture to facilitate the doctor's observation of the posterior wall of the gastric body and antrum.

6. Adopt a supine position with a left anterior oblique posture to observe the filling phase of the gastric fundus, antrum, and duodenum.

7. The patient maintains a prone position while the doctor observes lesions on the anterior wall of the stomach.

8. The patient maintains a semi-recumbent position with a right anterior oblique angle.

9. Adopt a left anterior oblique semi-recumbent position to observe the filling phase and motility of the gastric antrum.

10. Standing upright, drink sufficient barium to observe the image of gastric filling.

11. Perform a standing compression examination.

12. The patient remains standing while the doctor re-examines from the esophagus to the stomach.

3. Precautions for Complete Gastrointestinal Barium Meal Examination

1. Stop taking medications that may affect the examination as instructed by the doctor before the examination.

2. Avoid eating difficult-to-digest foods before the examination. Have a light dinner the previous day and refrain from eating after that.

3. If the patient has gastric retention, it is necessary to wash the stomach the night before the examination to eliminate substances in the stomach, facilitating the examination.

4. Take 100 grams of barium sulfate powder dissolved in warm water before the examination.

5. Barium is not absorbed by the body and will be excreted through feces. The stool may appear white for 1-2 days after the examination.

6. Pregnant women should not undergo this examination.

7. Gastrointestinal bleeding generally precludes the examination.