At present, when innovations delight us with the most modern technologies in any industry, high-quality equipment will help to check the functioning of all organs of the human body and identify failures. There are several ways to detect diseases in the colon. With their help, you can detect the presence of fistulas, tumors, malformations, diagnose, track changes in the course of a disease. To find out which is better - colonoscopy or irrigoscopy, you need to understand in more detail the intricacies of one and the other examination. But the preference for the choice still depends on the characteristics of the body and the symptoms of the disease.
Colonoscopy, its features
The main advantage of colonoscopy is the fact that in most patients who have undergone this procedure, it is possible to investigate the condition of the entire large intestine. In the process of the study, you can biopsy those sites where there is any suspicion of a disease, and you can immediately remove the polyps. If suddenly there is even the slightest suspicion of the presence of tumors in the large intestine, determining which is better - colonoscopy or irrigoscopy - depends only on the competence of the doctor.
In certain cases, it is best to start the study with irrigoscopy, and in the future, if the suspicion of a neoplasm is confirmed and you need to take the material for histology, you can apply a colonoscopy. This method is considered to be the most accurate and in demand for those severe cases when all previously used examination methods have been ineffective. But in those "blind" areas, in the folds of the intestine and bends, colonoscopy is not effective.
These two intestinal studies have different capabilities and goals, and therefore it is impossible to give a concrete answer to the question of which is better - colonoscopy or irrigoscopy. Both procedures make it possible to identify the disease in time and prevent a fatal outcome.
The difficulty in determining a cancerous tumor in the colon lies in the unsystematic growth of the tumor, which can be determined already in the last stages. Colonoscopy makes it possible to detect the inflammatory process in any part of the intestine and easily, without consequences, relieve the patient of adenomatous polyps. This procedure is often performed only under anesthesia, as it is very painful and unpleasant.
Irrigoscopy: its characteristics
The main advantage of irrigoscopy is the ability to identify segments of the intestine in which there is a narrowing, to indicate how it is located in the abdominal cavity, and to divide its size. This diagnostic method is that the intestines are filled with barium contrast, after which photographing of the part that is followed using x-ray occurs. The resulting image will clearly show the intestine anatomy and fairly large neoplasms in it, but you will not see the inflammatory processes and the presence of polyps on it.
This research method is resorted to if there is a suspicion of a narrowing of the intestine, or if the person does not tolerate a colonoscopy. This diagnosis is considered gentle and does not cause complications.
What are the differences between colonoscopy and irrigoscopy?
These two types of studies reveal malfunctions of the intestine, pathology throughout the colon. Irrigoscopy or colonoscopy still have differences, and they consist in the method of diagnosis itself.
Irrigoscopy is an x-ray, and colonoscopy is an endoscopic diagnosis.
During irrigoscopy, the doctor takes pictures of the colon, before filling the entire cavity with barium sulfate. This solution fills the intestines and allows the x-ray to better examine the intestinal pathology. If you do not use it and take a picture, then you will not see anything on it. Only from the pictures can the doctor make a diagnosis.
During a colonoscopy, the diagnostician introduces a flexible tube into the patient’s colon and examines the entire inner surface of the intestine, thereby fixing the affected area of the intestine. This diagnostic method allows not only to conduct an examination, but also makes it possible to conduct therapeutic manipulations:
- removal of polyps;
- stopping internal bleeding in the intestines;
- restoration of a normal lumen in the intestine in the area of narrowing.
In addition, during this study, the doctor can take samples for histology and monitor the correctness of treatment. But to answer exactly which is better - irrigoscopy or colonoscopy is rather difficult. Each of these methods is good in its field and helps in solving many problems.
What to choose?
Irrigoscopy or colonoscopy - which is better? If you compare these two methods of diagnosis, the main thing that you should pay attention to is the lack of a 100% guarantee on the accuracy of the data obtained. Neither one nor the second method can determine all the pathologies of the intestine effectively. But nevertheless, doctors give priority to colonoscopy.
Only it can give reliable information about the internal state of the intestine and even allows you to get samples for further research, and in some patients it can even help remove polyps. But neither a colonoscopy, nor an irrigoscopy will help to make an accurate diagnosis.
Positive and negative aspects of intestinal research
Diseases associated with the intestines significantly affect the quality of human life. When choosing a diagnostic method, do not postpone the study, and you need to choose only a high-quality examination.
Colonoscopy can be compared with tomography, and it is it that gives more opportunities for in-depth examination and the identification of a large number of pathologies. It also helps to take biopsy samples and helps in treatment. This method is considered the most difficult, after which the patient for some time has the impression that his stomach is swollen, but after a short period of time all the symptoms disappear.
Irrigoscopy also has its advantages - this procedure is not so painful, and the degree of injury from it is minimal. This method is well suited in cases where it is difficult to check certain areas of the intestine — bends and pockets — in another way.
And the main disadvantages of diagnosis are contraindications to its implementation:
- intestinal intussusception;
- pronounced form of diverticulosis.
In cases where there is suspicion of obstruction in the intestine, then irrigoscopy is performed using water-soluble substances, and this greatly affects the quality of the images.
Getting ready for irrigoscopy
Colonoscopy or irrigonoscopy of the intestine requires preliminary preparation of the body. Proper preparation of the intestines for the procedure will significantly increase the chances of accurate results.
Before going on irrigoscopy, the patient must follow a diet and cleanse the intestines. All foods that can cause bloating should be excluded from the diet for several days. You can not eat:
- Fresh vegetables and fruits.
- Barley.
- Wheat and oatmeal.
- Exclude all types of greens and brown bread.
It’s best to go on a steam diet for a few days — dishes prepared only in a steam bath. Before the procedure, do not eat on the night before and in the morning.
As for the cleaning procedures, the exact results of irrigoscopy can be obtained with a clean intestine, so the patient must take a laxative and make an enema.
Are there any complications after irrigoscopy?
If the procedure was carried out correctly, then irrigoscopy or colonoscopy of the intestine should not give complications. But when administering a barium sulfate preparation, a person may experience discomfort in the intestine and pain. After the procedure, the patient may have a stool delay due to the drug, but taking laxatives and an enema will help in solving this problem.
Getting ready for a colonoscopy
Irrigoscopy or colonoscopy, which is better? Each of these diagnostics is good in its own way and it is necessary to be well prepared for each of them, only in this case more accurate research data can be obtained.
Preparation is needed in order to cleanse the intestines to accurately examine all of its areas and to identify narrowing. In the intestines there should be no feces, gases, blood and mucus, only in this case it is possible to examine every centimeter of intestines without problems. This is a general condition that is voiced in any diagnostic center or hospital, wherever a medical institution, public or private.
For example, irrigoscopy or colonoscopy in St. Petersburg for compulsory medical insurance is carried out only after a three-day diet. Before a colonoscopy, the patient can eat:
- low-fat broths and only in the second water;
- boiled, boiled chicken meat, including fish;
- cottage cheese and kefir;
- inedible cookies and white bread.
It is better to completely abandon all other products, including fresh vegetables and fruits. Such a strict diet has not harmed anyone yet, but it has made it possible to conduct a bowel examination with maximum accuracy.
Before going on a colonoscopy, the patient should not have dinner or breakfast, you can drink water or tea, take a laxative and make a cleansing enema.
There are drugs that can help prepare the intestines for colonoscopy:
- Fortrans.
- Dufalac.
- Lavacol.
All these are laxatives, and they will help to cleanse the intestines easily and without further discomfort.
Complications after a colonoscopy can be?
The most serious complication after colonoscopy may be bleeding or perforation of the intestine, but there are very few such cases. After the study, a person may feel discomfort in the intestine, but he should lie down a little, best on his stomach, and all the discomfort will go away.
Diagnostic patient reviews
If it comes to intestinal examination, the question arises: irrigoscopy or colonoscopy - which is more informative? It is difficult to give an exact answer. It depends on many factors: the condition of the patient, the disease. It is impossible to say exactly which is better - colonoscopy or irrigoscopy of the intestine, since each person has his own body and symptoms. If one patient succeeded in identifying the disease using one method, then it may not particularly help the other. For each, a specific diagnostic method is effective - colonoscopy or irrigoscopy. Patient reviews vary. Someone notes pain, someone, on the contrary, the simplicity of the procedure. Basically, patients respond positively to both methods. The main thing, as we have already said, is to properly prepare for one and the other procedure in order to get the most accurate answers to all questions regarding the work of the intestine.