Upper gastrointestinal series immediately after a nondiagnostic first-dose oral cholecystogram

In 1,250 consecutive patients with nondiagnostic first-dose oral cholecystograms (OCG), the authors performed an upper gastrointestinal series (UGI) that same day prior to repeating the gallbladder studies. The residual barium from the UGI obscured the gallbladder on the reinforced OCG in only 19 patients (1.5%). This approach can alleviate scheduling problems, shorten the hospital stay for patients, decrease the time lost from work for outpatients, and permit an earlier correct diagnosis when the major problem is upper gastrointestinal rather than biliary.