Enteroscopy-guided contrast radiography of small bowel lesions

To introduce the method of enteroscopy-guided contrast radiography (ECR)and evaluate the diagnostic value of ECR for those patients with small bowel lesions. From Aug 2004 to Dec 2005, 43 double-balloon enteroscopy (DBE) examinations were performed in 32 patients with suspected small bowel diseases. Among them, DBE revealed abnormal finding in 24 patients, and ECR was then performed in 13 of these 24 patients. ECR demonstrated abnormal findings in 11 among the 13 patients. In the cases of tumors and bezoar, the ECR images were very helpful for the surgical planning. However, for the evaluation of inflammatory lesions, DBE showed more accurate results and ECR could not demonstrate small or shallow ulcerative lesions. ECR can be helpful for surgical planning or determination of treatment effect in the cases of small bowel lesions that require surgical treatment or follow-up study