ISOSMOTIC BOWEL PREPARATION IMPROVES THE ACCURACY OF ILIAC ARTERY COLOR-FLOW DUPLEX EXAMINATION

Colour flow duplex ultrasonography is currently the non-invasive metho d of choice for investigating the iliac arteries, However it is only 8 4-92% sensitive in the best hands when compared with biplanar angiogra phy, Bower gas and faeces overlying the iliac arteries obscure the ves sels and prevent a good ultrasound image. We have previously shown tha t preparation of the bowel with an iso-osmotic bower preparation (Klea n Prep) improves the clarity of duplex image of the iliac arteries, Th is is caused by a volume effect which flushes out gas and faeces, leav ing a fluid-filled bowel transparent to ultrasound, The aim of this st udy was to investigate whether this enhanced image increased the diagn ostic accuracy of duplex examination. We performed iliac duplex examin ations on 56 patients with clinically suspected iliac artery disease, initially with the normal preparation of starving the patients for 12h and subsequently after preparation by Klean Prep, The results from ea ch investigation were compared with the gold standard of biplanar intr a-arterial digital substraction angiography. The use of iso-osmotic bo wel preparation (Klean Prep) significantly improved the accuracy of il iac duplex ultrasonography over preparation by 12h starvation, when co mpared with biplanar angiography.