X-ray Examination of Endoscopy? A Blind Prospective Study Including Barium Meal, Double Contrast Examiniation, and Endoscopy of Esophagus, Stomach, and Duodenum

One hundred and one consecutive patients with upper abdominal dyspepsia were examined by conventional barium meal, double contrast examination, and endoscopy of the stomach and the duodenum in a blind prospective investigation. All the examiners were specially trained. Only small differences between the sensitivity and the specificity of the methods were found, but the clinical importance of the false positive and the false negative errors of the three methods of examination was not the same. The sensitivity of the ordinary X-ray examination was found to be sufficiently high for still recommending this method for primary screening. In case of posivite findings in the stomach, supplementary gastroscopy ought to be performed in order to increase the diagnostic specificity.