A BARIUM ENEMA TRAINING-PROGRAM FOR RADIOGRAPHERS - A PILOT-STUDY

We describe a training programme designed to instruct radiographers ho w to perform the double contrast barium enema (DCBE). The programme wa s assessed by comparing the first 50 unsupervised examinations with st udies performed by senior registrars in radiology, Comparison was made by marking each study blind in terms of barium coating, colonic diste nsion and visualisation of the colon in double contrast, A note was al so made of the number of exposures, screening time, examination time a nd complications, No difference was found in any of these parameters w hen comparing the two groups, A further 50 patients were assessed at o ne year and this showed that standards had been maintained in terms of the above criteria, Follow-up at 3 years in the initial group has sho wn no missed pathology, We believe that delegation of the performance of the DCBE to radiographers is both acceptable to the patient and saf e.