Comparison between radiologic and endoscopic evaluation of the continent ileostomy reservoir

The present study was performed to compare the results of radiologic examination and endoscopy in 156 patients with continent ileostomy reservoirs. Data from clinical follow-up and findings at revisional surgery were used for confirmation of diagnosis. One hundred and one patients had the clinical diagnosis nonspecific inflammation, 48 had symptoms of valve dysfunction, and 7 were studied because of suspected valve-shunting fistulas. For moderate and severe inflammation the findings on radiographs and at endoscopy were in accordance, whereas slight inflammation was more frequently reported by radiology than endoscopy. Radiology overdiagnosed slight inflammation. One disadvantage of endoscopy in patients with inflammation was that the afferent ileal segment could be reached in only 56%. By radiology 41 of 44 defective valves were identified (93%), whereas endoscopy disclosed only 24 defective valves (55%). The combined efforts of radiologic examination and endoscopy only managed to diagnose three of the seven patients with valve-shunting fistulas (two by radiologic and one by endoscopic examination). In conclusion, the retrograde double-contrast examination is a valuable complement in the assessment of patients with continent ileostomies and appears to be superior to endoscopy in the diagnosis of valve dysfunction and in depicting the afferent ileal segment.