“Why is an x-ray needed for fecal impaction?”
My son may have fecal impaction, and his pediatrician wants him to have an x-ray to confirm it. I'm just worried about the harmful effects x-rays have. Why does he need an x-ray to diagnose it? Aren't there other ways to diagnose fecal impaction?
3 Answers
Fecal impaction can be due to many causes including foreign bodies, bowel obstruction, etc. Most X-ray studies today to evaluate this are of very lose dose/exposure and worth the information obtained to prevent more invasive procedures (e.g., surgery) to remedy the problem.
The radiation does from a single frontal KUB x-ray is very low. Usually the pelvic region is protected especially the gonadal region for pediatric age patients. Frontal x-ray is the best way to detect fecal impaction. There are no other good tests. Ultrasound would not be helpful in this regard. The single frontal KUB (means kidneys ureters and bladder) is really the best test in this regard and the quickest to perform especially in the pediatric age group where other tests would be less desirable.
Brian
Brian
No.
