The double-contrast barium meal: a correlation with endoscopy

The radiological and endoscopic findings are described in 214 patients with 252 lesions in whom endoscopy had been requested by a radiologist either to confirm or clarify a radiological opinion. There was radiological and endoscopic agreement about the presence or absence of oesophagitis in 73% of patients, but there was agreement about the presence or absence of duodenitis in only 48%. There were only two cases of early gastric cancer, and no early gastric cancers were found in a group of 43 patients on whom endoscopy had been specifically requested because of an abnormal gastric mucosal pattern. Endoscopy failed to detect 13% of gastric ulcers at the initial endoscopic examination.