Radiation enteritis: an overview.

The clinical and radiological findings in chronic radiation enteritis are described in a group of 18 patients. The patients presented with malabsorption, diarrhoea, chronic intermittent obstruction or a combination of these signs. Eventually all patients developed an ileus. The radiologist plays an important role in determining the cause of the clinical signs. The single-contrast barium infusion technique was used. In the jejunum no changes were found except bowel dilatation as a sign of an obstruction more distally. In the ileum there was evidence of submucosal thickening, adhesions and single or multiple stenoses. These changes are described in relation to the pathogenesis of chronic radiation enteritis.