The absorption of barium in fecal barium peritonitis

摘要

Background: Fecal barium peritonitis is a complication of a colon contrast enema. It is a rare form of peritonitis, but associated with high mortality. It has not yet been clarified to what extent barium is absorbed in lexicologically relevant quantities in peritonitis of this sort. An experimental study with animals was carried out to answer this question. Method: Eight pigs in all were examined; fecal barium peritonitis was induced operatively in 3 pigs, fecal peritonitis in 2 pigs and pure barium peritonitis in 2 pigs. With the help of trace element analysis with inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP), the following organs of the experimental animals were analyzed for barium: brain, heart, kidney, liver, lung. Results: The highest barium concentrations were measured in animals which were given pure barium peritonitis or fecal barium peritonitis. The highest levels were in lung, liver and kidney. Statistical analysis using a block comparison, found a highly significant difference (p = 0.001) between animals which had been treated with barium and those which had only been given fecal peritonitis or were healthy. There was no significant difference between the groups with pure barium peritonitis and those with fecal peritonitis. The barium concentrations measured here are of toxi-cological relevance when extrapolated to the whole animal. This may explain the extremely high mortality of fecal barium peritonitis in comparison to pure fecal peritonitis.