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Barium Meal Follow Through
Also known as Contrast Enhanced Barium Meal
This test is for
Male, Female
Test Preparation
Understanding Barium Meal Follow Through
What is Barium Meal Follow Through?
The barium meal follow-through test is an imaging test used to diagnose the ailments in the patient’s small intestines. This test is crucial to determine the small intestine ailments like Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and bowel cancer.
In this test, the patient drinks a contrast medium with barium sulphate, which appears white in X-rays. As the barium passes through the digestive tract, X-ray images are taken at 0, 20, 40 and 90 minutes, enabling the radiologist to see the small intestine. The test is complete when the barium sulphate enters the large intestine. The barium sulphate medium is non-poisonous and passed out as stool.
What is Barium Meal Follow Through used for?
- • To evaluate the cause of any blood in the stools • To evaluate the cause of any change in your bowel movements • To diagnose any suspected cancer of the small intestine • To diagnose suspected diverticular disease or polyps or cysts of the small intestine • To diagnose the cause of any non-specific stomach pain
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