The difference between gastroscopy and barium meal is this

As we all know, MSG and barium meal are both methods of gastric examination, but most people are not very clear about the differences between gastroscopy and barium meal. In fact, the accuracy of gastroscopy is much higher than that of barium meal examination, but not everyone's physical condition is suitable for gastroscopy, but everyone is suitable for barium meal examination.

There are currently two main ways to examine the stomach. One is the gastroscopy we just mentioned, and the other is the barium meal that you may not have heard of. Since there are two ways, you will be faced with a choice. To make the right choice, you must have a simple or detailed understanding of both methods. Making a choice is often very difficult for women. Let's compare these two methods, gastroscopy and barium meal.

From the perspective of examination methods, the biggest difference between the two is that gastroscopy requires the insertion of a tube but provides a clearer view, while barium meal does not require the insertion of a tube but does not provide as clear a view as gastroscopy.

If I can make an analogy, a barium meal is like looking at a shadow puppet. All you can see is a blurry shadow, whereas a gastroscopy is like looking at a high-definition digital image. You can see it clearly. So what would you choose? Of course, this must be determined by your own physical condition and the severity of your stomach disease.

Why is barium meal called “barium meal”? The principle of barium meal is an X-ray examination, during which the patient is asked to drink an opaque X-ray "barium" solution. This solution cannot be absorbed and will remain in the stomach and be evenly coated on the stomach wall. Then the shape of the stomach can basically be outlined with X-rays. Gastroscopy involves inserting a tube equipped with a high-definition camera from the mouth into the stomach, which is then moved left and right and up and down to adjust the position and direction. The entire situation inside the stomach can then be viewed on an external display.

The accuracy of gastroscopy is relatively high. Generally speaking, if gastroscopy finds lesions, then there are indeed lesions, while barium meal can only detect 50%. If gastroscopy finds no lesions, the barium meal may sometimes be misdiagnosed as having 50% lesions.

If barium meal is so unreliable, why is it still used? Because some people cannot have a gastroscopy, either because they are afraid, or their bodies cannot bear it, or they cannot tolerate anesthetics in their mouths. However, there are always some people who choose barium meal. However, if you can use a gastroscope yourself, it is still recommended that you use a gastroscope, which is more reliable.