Dilute barium as a contrast agent for abdominal CT.

Abstract

Reliable bowel opacification is critical for successful inPresence of Streak Artifacts terpretation of abdominal CT scans. This is usually achieved At the recommended dilution (1 % wt/wt), no artifacts with oral administration of diluted water soluble iodinated were related to high attenuation of the barium. Similar contrast (Gastrognafin, Squibb, on Oral Hypaque, Winthrop findings occurred with the water-soluble agent. & Sons) as a 3%-5% solution [1 -3]. We have evaluated 1 00 consecutive cases in which dilute barium sulfate was used to opacify the bowel, and compared them with 1 00 Coating Properties cases in which water-soluble contrast was used. Neither agent reliably coated the bowel wall. The material must be in that part of the bowel being scanned to be visible.