AIR ENEMA USED IN THE EVALUATION OF ACUTE COLITIS - A COMPARISON BETWEEN INSTANT RADIOGRAPHY AND ENDOSCOPY

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate air enema as a meth od of assessing acute colitis. Material and Methods: Twenty-seven pati ents with symptoms of acute colitis underwent plain abdominal radiogra phy, air enema, and colonoscopy within 48 h. The films were evaluated by 3 observers with different levels of experience, both independently and together, and the results were then compared to the findings at e ndoscopy. Results: Air enema visualized a greater part of the colon th an plain abdominal radiography. When air enema was compared to endosco py as the reference, it showed good correlation, with a positive predi ctive value of 92% (sensitivity 62%, specificity 85%). Evaluation of t he rectum was less accurate, a finding that emphasized the importance of rigid sigmoidoscopy. Conclusion: Air enema is a useful diagnostic m ethod in acute colitis, it is easily performed and tolerated well with no observed complications. It is also easy to interpret, as shown by a high level of agreement (kappa=0.67) among the 3 independent observe rs with very different levels of experience.