Upper GI verses Modified barium

[Anonymous]

Another question….my doctor finally agreed to do some testing…the nurse called and told me that we were scheduling an upper GI (which I have heard was useless and the doctor even said it herself when we were at our appt), but she said he would have to drink barium?!?! So, I am confused. Do they drink barium for an upper GI? Is it the same as a modified barium? Or do you think they are using the terms interchangeably?

Johanna

[Anonymous]

Yes, they have to drink barium for an upper GI, and NO it is not the same as a modified barium swallow. The UGI looks for structural abnormalities throughout the GI tract, and the modified barium swallow goes in closer to look at the mechanics of the swallow to identify things like delayed bolus formation, holding food in the mouth, dysphagia, and aspiration. Neither of these tests are intended to diagnose reflux or the absence of reflux.

For the UGI, they lie the child on the table and strap them down. Then they have them drink a barium mixture from a bottle- since they’re going in on an empty stomach, many of the babies are hungry and drink it. Hailey had a complete feeding aversion at the time of hers and still drank the barium. Then they use an Xray kind of machine to take pictures and watch the barium as it moves through the esophagus, the stomach, and into the small bowel. They rotate the table in all kinds of directions also looking to see if the barium comes back up, though like I said, this test is not diagnostic for reflux. For the UGI, you might want to ask them what they will do if the child won’t drink thet barium.

For the MBS, they also have the child drink a barium laced drink using a bottle, and sometimes a cup. They will watch the bolus closely on an xray kind of screen, and see if it forms and travels properly through. If there are signs of aspiration, or if the child can’t tolerate the regular thickness liquid, they might try thickening to various different consistencies until they find the right one that goes down properly. Then the SLP or OT (who usually do this test) typically make recommendations for which texture to feed and which nipple flow to use to prevent swallowing problems.

I personally don’t think this test is useless. Though after having it done we were no further ahead in finding out what WAS wrong, we could rule out lots of things that WEREN’T wrong. You have to remember that the point is to diagnose structural abnormalities of the digestive tract, and not to diagnose reflux. It was a relief to me to know that Hailey was structurally normal, and that was one less thing for us to worry about.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

This test is very inconsistent with diagnosing reflux or telling you how severe it is. Aidan’s first UGI didn’t show any reflux at all! I remember the radiologist telling me that she didn’t feel that Aidan had reflux, but Aidan’s second UGI showed very severe reflux. That radiologist said he hadn’t seen reflux so severe on an UGI.

You should ask for a 24 hour pH study, aka pH probe. It is the surest way to diagnose reflux. It can also tell you how severe it is, as well as which symptoms are related to the reflux.

[Anonymous]

My daughter is having her UGI tomorrow morning, and I know she can’t eat for 4 hours before it, but can I give her her prevacid? The test is at 1030am, so I was going to wake her up around 530, give her the prevacid & a bottle and have her finish by 630. Does this sound ok to anyone who’s done this before? i really don’t think she can go all the way til 1030 from 800pm the night before without eating!

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I was told not to use meds that day…..but I’m not sure if others have been told that.

What I did with Myles is wake him at 4 am and feed him (he never took more than two ounces at the time so I figured he’d digest it quickly). His test was at 8am.

Did you know that you are supposed to give Prevacid on an empty stomach and then feed her 30 minutes later?

[Anonymous]

Yes, I actually just found out that it has to be before she ate. I was told it could be 20-30 mins before or after a bottle, so until the other day, we’d give her the bottle, then wait 20-30 mins & then the meds since it was easier with a little one. Now i wake her, give her the prevacid, change her diaper & distract her for 20-30 mins, then the bottle! She actually woke up herself at 530 this morning, and followed my schedule perfectly. I gave her the prevacid because I didn’t know i shouldn’t, hopefully that doesn’t make too big a difference…

She’s sleeping again now, I’m just worried about when she wakes and wants to eat, and then of course the carride there with a hungry baby. She hates getting in her carseat anyway, but hungry should be interesting…I’m just keeping my fingers crossed, please do the same for me!

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Good luck! I was so worried on the day of Myles’ test, but it went much better than I had expected. I hope it does for you too.

[Author]

Posts