THE USE OF AIR OR CO2 AS INSUFFLATION AGENTS FOR DOUBLE-CONTRAST BARIUM ENEMA (DCBE) - IS THERE A QUALITATIVE DIFFERENCE

One hundred consecutive out-patients referred for double contrast bari um enema (DCBE) were randomized in a double-blind prospective study to receive either air or CO2 as an insufflation agent, Each examination was performed by the same radiologist and radiographer. The two groups were equally matched for age and sex, Each completed examination was independently assessed by three radiologists for a variety of paramete rs, The results show that the patients receiving air as an insufflatio n agent had better overall colonic distension than the group receiving CO2 and that this was statistically significant (P=0.0004), There was no significant difference in the mean time taken to perform the exami nation in the two groups nor was there any significant difference in m ucosal coating or preparation, In conclusion, our results suggest that poor colonic distension is a potential problem when CO2 is used for D CBE and that this cannot be solely attributed to the time taken to per form the examination. Poor distension could lead to diagnostic errors and this may outweigh the advantages in patient acceptability when usi ng CO2 as an insufflation agent.