Future of Double Contrast Barium Enema in Question

In a Study by Ferrucci JT, Double-contrast barium enema: use in practice and implications for CT colonography in AJR Am J Roentgenol 2006 Jul;187(1):170-3

"This study examines the use and yield of double-contrast barium enemas (DCBEs) for colorectal polyp detection in current clinical practice outside the research setting. A total of 244 out of 665 (36.7%) barium enema studies were performed using the double-contrast technique over the 4-year period-that is, approximately one per week. The most common indication for a DCBE (109/244 or 44.6%) was to complete a failed, incomplete, or inconclusive colonoscopy.Overall, only 14 of the 244 (5.7%) studies gave positive reports for polyps, and of these, five were shown to be false-positive at later colonoscopy. Only six polyps 10 mm or larger were positively detected during the entire study, which is approximately one per 60 studies or one every 8 months

Authors concluded that in their centre a DCBE is a low-yield procedure for detecting polyps, with a high false-positive rate, and is not likely to be performed by experienced practitioners in the future."