A 48-year-old member asked:
do you need to take gastrografin for a barium enema?
1 doctor answer
Dr. Frank Welte answered
16 years experience Radiology
Depends: Most commonly, barium is administered into the rectum (along with air) for barium enema.
If there is suspicion of bowel perforation, water soluble gastrografin is used instead. Gastrografin is hyperosmolar and can cause fluid shifts (fluid moves from the blood to the GI tract) and should be used with caution in hemodynamically unstable patients.
Colon is then imaged with x-rays/fluoroscopy.
Answered on Mar 5, 2018
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A 32-year-old member asked:
Dr. Oscar Novick answered
57 years experience Pediatrics
Enema: Gastrografin is like a barium enema but the radiologist has better visualization and it is easier on the patient.
A 41-year-old female asked:
Dr. Steve Choi answered
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Iodine vs barium: Gastografin (diatrizoic acid) is radiocontrast agent containing iodine and may be used as an alternative to barium sulfate for medical imaging of the ... Read More
A 42-year-old female asked:
Dr. Paul Velt answered
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About the same : Both of the contrast media show the bowel on CT . Sometimes the radiologist prefers one over the other. Gastrographin passes through the bowel faster ... Read More
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A 58-year-old member asked:
Dr. David Miller answered
9 years experience Family Medicine
Yes: The purpose of the prep is to get all of the stool out of your colon so that the walls of your colon can be seen on the x-ray. This is important as al ... Read More
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