Evaluation of double contrast barium enemas performed by radiographic technologists

This study was undertaken to see if radiographic technologists could be trained to perform double contrast barium enemas of a quality comparable to that produced by gastrointestinal radiologists and radiology residents. One technologist was from a remote rural hospital and the other from a university gastrointestinal radiology department. After initial training the two technologists continued to produce work of high quality. Analysis of the films showed that there was no significant difference between those films produced in the rural hospital and in the university centre. We recommend more widespread training of radiographic technologists in this work.