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Housecall Archives
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Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
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Mayo Clinic Housecall
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Risks
By Mayo Clinic staffA barium enema exam poses few risks. Rarely, complications of a barium enema exam may include:
- Inflammation in tissues surrounding the colon
- Obstruction in the gastrointestinal tract
- Tear in the colon wall
References
- Barium enema examination. American Society of Radiologic Technologists. Accessed March 11, 2009.
- Lower gastrointestinal (GI) tract X-ray (radiography). Radiological Society of North America. http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=lowergi. Accessed March 11, 2009.
- American Cancer Society guidelines for the early detection of cancer. American Cancer Society. Accessed March 11, 2009.
- Levin B, et al. Screening and surveillance for the early detection of colorectal cancer and adenomatous polyps, 2008: A joint guideline from the American Cancer Society, the US Multi-Society Task Force on Colorectal Cancer, and the American College of Radiology. Gastroenterology. 2008;134:1570.
- Colon x-ray: Defecography (DEF); barium enema; air contrast study (evacuative portography). In: Fischbach FT, ed. Manual of Laboratory & Diagnostic Tests. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2004:732.
- Schilling McCann JA, ed. Diagnostic Tests. Philadelphia, Pa.: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2007.
