Perspective: the small bowel examination in the diagnosis of Crohn's disease

Enteroclysis has been increasingly recommended for radiologic examination of the small intestine, especially for focal lesions, but also for more extensive processes such as regional enteritis. Seventy-four patients were studied who had a final clinical diagnosis of regional enteritis and who had been examined by more conventional peroral ingestion of barium suspension together with fluoroscopy and vigorous manual compression. In only two cases did the radiographic examination fail to identify proven regional enteritis; one who had an isolated ulcer at an ileorectal anastomosis and one in whom jejunal regional enteritis was mistakenly diagnosed as a mesenteric mass. Careful fluoroscopy of the small intestine combined with vigorous manual compression is a sensitive method of detecting regional enteritis.