[Ultrasound study in the diagnosis of colon obstruction]

The authors present the results of their investigations into the use of routine transabdominal sonography and ultrasound irrigoscopy in the diagnosis of acute colon obstruction in 70 patients. In 55 patients, the cause of this pathology was tumor-induced obturation of colon lumen and in 15 cases, the pathology resulted from colon evacuation dysfunction due to congenital abnormalities, acquired stenosis due to inflammatory diseases. Ultrasound irrigoscopy was first applied to determine the presence and degree of colon obstruction and to establish its causes. The procedure and semiotics of ultrasound irrigoscopy and routine transabdominal sonography for this abnormality have been developed and are described in detail. Analysis of the findings has demonstrated that ultrasound irrigoscopy used in the diagnosis of acute colon obstruction is on a par with X-ray irrigoscopy in its informative value and may be widely employed in the used arsenal of diagnostic techniques.