The Department of Radiology at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center compared two neutral oral contrast agents and published their findings (Comparison of Two Neutral Oral Contrast Agents in Pediatric Patients: A Prospective Randomized Study) in the May 2018 publication of Radiology.
The study compares Beekley Medical’s Breeza® flavored beverage for neutral abdominal/pelvic imaging (REF 221) to Bracco Diagnostics' VoLumen, a barium sulfate suspension.
Three key findings from Dillman et al. were as follows:
- Pediatric patients were more likely to consume their oral contrast if prescribed Breeza flavored beverage for neutral abdominal imaging.
- Some patients who failed to consume the prescribed barium sulfate suspension were able to complete the flavored beverage oral preparation.
- Patients found Breeza flavored beverage for neutral abdominal imaging to have a more preferable taste and texture compared to barium sulfate suspension.
Materials and Methods
Sixty-six pediatric patients, between ages 8 and 17 years, undergoing CT enterography or MR enterography,were enrolled in the study and randomized to receive one of the two neutral agents; 33 for Breeza flavored beverage for neutral abdominal imaging, and 33 for VoLumen.
All patients were suspected of having, or known to have, inflammatory bowel disease. Prescribed volumes were based on patient weight.
Study Results:
Twenty-eight of the 33 (84.8%) patients completed the prescribed oral preparation for flavored beverage.
Seventeen of the 33 (51.5%) patients completed the prescribed oral preparation for barium sulfate suspension.
Patients were also asked to rate the taste and texture of both contrast agents on a scale of 1 – 10. Patients who consumed Breeza flavored beverage for neutral abdominal imaging rated it as significantly more favorable than VoLumen with regards to both taste and texture.
The Oral Contrast Rescue
For those 16 patients who were unable to complete the barium sulfate suspension, an “oral contrast rescue” was attempted. Eight of these 16 patients were willing to finish their prescribed oral contrast with Breeza. Four of these eight patients were able to complete the full volume of prescribed oral contrast.
Cincinnati Children’s authors concluded that “our study supports the results of Kolbe et al, who showed that Breeza flavored beverage for neutral abdominal imaging had a preferred taste to barium sulfate suspension in adult volunteers.”
“Based on these observations, our study suggests that Breeza flavored beverage for neutral abdominal imaging is an acceptable alternative to low-density barium sulfate suspension in children and adolescents undergoing CT and MR enterography.”
To learn more about this study and Breeza flavored beverage for neutral abdominal/pelvic imaging, contact Beekley Medical at 1-800-233-5539 or info@beekley.com
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Jonathan McCullough
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