EurekAlert! -- Evaluation of chronic abdominal pain of luminal etiology is a challenging problem for the primary care physicians and gastroenterologists. The exact localization of lesion to either small or large bowel remains an elusive identity in many subjects. In tropical countries, where most of the population is of low socioeconomic status, one needs an imaging modality which screens small and large bowel lesions simultaneously at a reasonable cost with good sensitivity and specificity. Small bowel evaluation by BMFT and colonic evaluation by double contrast barium enema (DCBE) are the standard norms but doing them separately adds cost as well as discomfort to the patient. Pneumocolon has been combined with BMFT in previous studies for evaluation of ileocecal lesions but not as a screening modality for both small and large bowel simultaneously.
