Pneumocolon as an aid to small-bowel studies.

A prospective study was performed in 138 consecutive patients referred for small-bowel examination to evaluate the use of the pneumocolon when there was poor demonstration of the terminal ileum. One hundred and twenty-two patients were examined by enteroclysis (small-bowel enema) and 16 by small-bowel meal. Pneumocolon was used in 38 of the small-bowel enemas and in eight of the small-bowel meal examinations. In 29 cases (21 small-bowel enema; eight small-bowel meal) the use of the pneumocolon significantly improved demonstration of the terminal ileum. When the distal ileum is not adequately seen on a small-bowel study, pneumocolon serves as a useful additional technique.