Bowel Preparation

Overview :

The bowel is emptied of any contents for such procedures as barium enema (introducing a compound containing barium to promote better visualization of intestines during x rays) or colonoscopy. Preparation of the bowel distally—from the rectum—is necessary for such diagnostic procedures as sigmoidoscopy. Bowel emptying is done through taking oral laxative solutions that speed up the excretion of the contents of the lower bowel together with restrictions on solid food intake.

A newer type of imaging study may eventually make current laxative methods of bowel preparation obsolete. According to a group of researchers in the United Kingdom, computed tomography (CT) colonography (sometimes called virtual colonoscopy) has shown itself to be as accurate in diagnosing colorectal tumors as optical colonoscopy. CT colonography allows a radiologist to examine the colon and nearby organs in less than 30 seconds.