Does the addition of an oral barium tracer improve the ability of the preliminary abdominal radiograph to assess efficacy of colonic cleansing? A prospective randomized controlled evaluation.

BACKGROUND: We investigated whether the ability of preliminary abdominal radiography to assess the adequacy of colonic preparation is improved by the addition of an oral barium tracer to the laxative preparation and the optimal dosage of this tracer. METHODS: A single-blind, randomized controlled evaluation of four parallel groups of adult patients was performed. All patients were scheduled to a receive a double-contrast barium enema at a tertiary care hospital or an outpatient clinic. RESULTS: One hundred nineteen patients were randomized into four groups. There was no significant difference in the ability of plain abdominal radiography to predict the adequacy of the bowel preparation between the control group and the groups given 60 or 150 g of barium tracer. There was an improved correlation between findings of preliminary abdominal radiography and the adequacy of colon preparation between the control group and the group given 240 g of oral barium tracer (67% vs. 90%). CONCLUSION: The use of a large amount (240 g) of oral barium tracer with the colonic preparation improves the ability of preliminary abdominal radiography to predict the adequacy of colonic cleansing.