Sonoenteroclysis, a new sonographic method in evaluating and diagnosing small bowel disorders is an effective alternative to the usual method of barium enteroclysis, according to a recent study conducted by researchers at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh, India.
Sonoenteroclysis is a new way of doing transabdominal ultrasound. Patients are given fluid through the nasojejunal tube in order to alleviate gas in the bowel.
“Various techniques available until now for evaluating the small bowel have been either inadequate or have various disadvantages and limitations,” said Birinder Nagi, MD, lead author of the study. “Radiologic evaluation of the small bowel is usually done by barium examination which cannot evaluate the bowel wall and surrounding structures. With CT enteroclysis, another method, mucosal details cannot be well seen. Both of these techniques are associated with increased exposure to radiation. PET-CT enteroclysis is a new promising technique, but also requires ionizing radiation. MR enteroclysis is not widely available and there is concern about patients vomiting in the gantry while they are undergoing the examination.