Accuracy of double contrast barium enema and sigmoideoscopy in the detection of polyps in patients with diverticulosis.

The sensitivity between double contrast barium enema (DCBE) and sigmoideoscopy in diagnosing neoplastic lesions in the sigmoid colon was compared in patients with diverticulosis. In 52 patients with severe diverticulosis (> or = 15 diverticulas) the DCBE detected one out of 4 polyps found by sigmoideoscopy. In the remaining 54 patients with mild diverticulosis (< 15 diverticulas) DCBE detected 7 out of 10 polyps found by sigmoideoscopy. Successful bowel preparation did not influence the outcome of the DCBE. Sigmoideoscopy was incomplete in 17 (16%) of the patients; females were more difficult to examine than males (p = 0.012), as were those with a previous pelvic operation (p = 0.032). We conclude that neither DCBE nor sigmoideoscopy alone is sufficient to detect all neoplastic lesions in the sigmoid colon in patients with sigmoid diverticulosis of the colon.