Safir Ullah, Naeem Mumtaz, Akber Khan.
Complications of barium studies.
J Postgrad Med Inst Jan ;19(2):196-9.

Objectives: The objectives of our study were to know the frequency and type of complications of Barium contrast study. Material and Methods: This study was conducted in surgical unit of Postgraduate Medical Institute Hayatabad Medical Complex Peshawar. It was a descriptive study including all those patients who had some form of barium contrast studies for gastrointestinal diseases from January 2001 to December 2003. Results: Total number of patients was 290. Patients who developed complications were only 13 (4.17%). Referral from other centre was 75% among the complicated cases. Different types of complications noted in this study were intestinal obstruction 1.05% (n=3), failure of ileastomy/colostomy closure 2.42% (n=8), and perforation of hollow viscera 0.69% (n=2). Overall mortality rate was 0.69% (n=2). Conclusion: Frequency rate of complications in our study is higher than international studies. Complications rate can be reduced by following a standard approach to deal with acute/chronic abdomen. Barium study should be avoided in cases where there are signs of eminent intestinal obstruction or perforation.

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