Fluoroscopy
Upper Gastrointestinal (UGI)
Instructions
- Ages 0-4: Nothing to eat or drink four hours before the test.
- Ages 5-9: Nothing to eat or drink six hours before the test.
- Ages 10 to Adult: Nothing to eat or drink after midnight the night before your test.
After registering at Admitting, you will be taken to the Radiology Department and given an armband. Here, you may wait in the child-friendly waiting room until a radiology technologist comes to get you for your procedure.
For this procedure, you can bring a blanket or toy with you. Your parents will also be able to be in the room with you the entire time. The radiology technologist will ask you to put on a gown so the X-ray machine will be able to see your inner body parts. The radiology technologist will then take you into a room with a big table and two cameras.
Once in the room, you will be given barium to drink. Barium tastes like a thick vanilla milkshake. This allows your inner body parts to be seen on an X-ray. If you’d prefer chocolate, the radiology technologist can add cocoa to it. The more of the barium you drink, the better the images will be.
While you are drinking the barium, a doctor who looks at X-rays called a radiologist, will take your pictures. After the barium is all gone he or she will lie you down on our table so he or she can take more pictures. The cameras will project images of your inner body parts on our TV. The radiologist may also press on your stomach to see if you are experiencing any pain. Let him or her know if it hurts at all. After the radiologist takes pictures, the radiology technologist will take a few more, and then you are all done.
The upper gastrointestinal procedure usually takes about 30 minutes. The radiologist will let your doctor know what your pictures look like. Your doctor should have the results within 24 to 48 hours.
Post Procedure
Drink plenty of fluid for two days after your test. Your stool may be white in color from the barium. If you become severely constipated after the test, please contact your doctor.
Small Bowel Follow Through (SBFT)
Instructions
- Ages 0-4: Nothing to eat or drink four hours before the test.
- Ages 5-9: Nothing to eat or drink six hours before the test.
- Ages 10 to Adult: Nothing to eat or drink after midnight the night before your test.
After registering at Admitting, you will be taken to the Radiology Department and given an armband. Here, you may wait in the child-friendly waiting room until a radiology technologist comes to get you for your procedure.
For this procedure, you can bring a blanket or toy with you. Your parents will also be able to be in the room with you the entire time. The radiology technologist will ask you to put on a gown so our X-ray machine will be better able to see your inner body parts. After putting on a gown, the radiology technologist will then take you into a room with a big table and two cameras.
Once in the room, you will be given barium to drink. Barium tastes like a thick vanilla milkshake. This allows your inner body parts to be seen on an X-ray. If you’d prefer chocolate, the radiology technologist can add cocoa to it. The more of the barium you drink, the better the images will be.
After you finish drinking the barium, you will then be asked to lie down on the table, while the radiology technologist puts the cameras in place for your picture. The radiology technologist will begin by taking a picture every 15 minutes for the first hour, and then every 30 minutes during the second hour.
Pictures will be taken until the barium empties out of your stomach, thru your small bowel and reaches your large bowel. When this happens a radiologist, a doctor who looks at X-rays, will take more pictures with another camera that projects images of your inner body parts on a TV. After the radiologist finishes taking pictures, you are all done.
The small bowel follow through procedure usually takes two to three hours to complete. The radiologist will share what he sees with your primary doctor. Your doctor should have the results within 24 to 48 hours.
Post Procedure
Drink plenty of fluid for two days after your test. Your stool may be white in color from the barium. If you become severely constipated after the test, please contact your doctor.
Barium Enema or Colon Exam (BE)
Instructions
This test requires that your large intestine (colon) be as empty as possible.
- Under 2: Nothing to eat or drink four hours before the test.
- Ages 2-6: At 7 p.m., the evening before the exam, take one Dulcolax tablet. Dulcolax is an over-the-counter medication. Nothing to eat or drink four hours before the test.
- Ages 6-12: Only clear liquids the day before the exam. At 7 p.m., the evening before the exam, take one Dulcolax tablet. Dulcolax is an over-the-counter medication. Nothing to eat or drink eight hours before the test.
If your child is having the procedure to rule out Hirschsprung disease: Nothing to eat or drink four hours before the test.
After registering at Admitting, you will be taken to the Radiology Department and given an armband. Here, you may wait in the child-friendly waiting room until a radiology technologist comes to get you for your procedure.
For this procedure, you can bring a blanket or toy with you. Your parents will also be able to be in the room with you the entire time. The radiology technologist will ask you to put on a gown. After putting on a gown, the radiology technologist will then take you into the room and have you lie on a table underneath an X-ray tower.
The technologist will insert an enema tip, or tube, into your bottom, and a radiologist, a doctor who looks at X-rays, will fill your bottom with barium, a thick white liquid that allows your colon to be seen on the X-ray. This will make you feel like you have to go to the bathroom. It is alright to feel this way and you should try to hold it as long as possible.
The radiologist will then take pictures while the radiology technologist helps you change positions so the doctor can get the best images of your colon.
Once he or she is finished taking pictures, they will remove the enema tip, or tube, and take you to the bathroom. After you go to the bathroom, they will take one more picture to ensure most of the barium has left your colon.
The barium enema procedure usually takes one hour to complete. The radiologist will share what he sees with your primary doctor. Your doctor should have the results within 24 to 48 hours.
Post Procedure
Drink plenty of fluids for two days. Your stool may be white in color from the barium. If you become severely constipated after the test, please contact your doctor.
Voiding Cystourethrogram (VCUG)
Instructions
- Ages 10 and under: Nothing to eat or drink four hours before the test.
- Ages 11 and over: Nothing to eat or drink eight hours before the test.
After registering at Admitting, you will be taken to the pediatric section of the Family Care Center for the placement of a urinary catheter. A nurse will ask you to put on a gown and lie down on a bed. He or she will ask you to butterfly your legs and wash between your legs with cotton and a brown soap called betadine. This may feel cold.
After washing, the nurse will insert a tiny tube called a catheter into your bladder through the opening where urine comes out. Once your catheter is in place, you will be taken to the Radiology Department.
For this procedure, you can bring a blanket or toy with you. Your parents will also be able to be in the room with you the entire time. The radiology technologist will then take you into a room and have you lie on a table.
The technologist will connect a long tube to the catheter where a liquid, called Cystografin, will be put into your bladder. Cystografin is clear water-like fluid and allows the urinary system to be seen on the X-ray. It may feel cool when the liquid goes in, but it will not hurt. You may feel like you need to use the bathroom.
When you feel really full, we will ask you to urinate. Pictures will be taken and then the catheter will be removed. After you go to the bathroom to clean up, we ask that you lay on the table one last time for a final picture.
The voiding cystourethrogram procedure usually takes 45 minutes to complete. The radiologist will share what he see with your primary doctor. Your doctor should have the results within 24 to 48 hours.
Post Procedure
Drink extra fluids for two days after your test.