MRI Small Bowel Study
What to know
Your doctor has requested a specialised MRI examination of the small intestine – a Small Bowel Study.
Does any of the following apply to you? If so please contact us as soon as possible.
- You suspect or know that you may be pregnant
- You have ever experienced a severe reaction to a previous injection of contrast media
- You suffer from asthma or have kidney disease
- You are a diabetic
- You have a pacemaker in your body
Do you require an interpreter?
Is the patient non-english speaking? If so, we can arrange for an interpreter to be present during the appointment. Please let us know as soon as possible so we can make the relevant arrangements.
Before the examination your diet must be restricted to enable the bowel to be cleaned of residue, otherwise the examination may not be completely satisfactory. Please call into our clinic to make an appointment and collect your preparation
Day before examination:
- Evening meal – A light evening meal before 7pm
- At 8pm – Mix the contents of the Picolax sachet with 120mls of water. Drink all of this mixture followed by two large glasses of clear fluids
- Have nothing to eat after drinking the laxative
- Clear fluids may be taken throughout the evening to satisfy thirst
- From midnight nothing to eat, sips of water for thirst.
Please bring any previous imaging with you on the day of your examination. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask us.
In most cases, on arriving at the clinic for your scan, you will be given a special solution to drink over the course of one hour (MRI Enterography) – the solution coats and outlines the small bowel. Just before the MRI scan itself, you will be given an injection of a contrast dye into a vein, which will help provide additional information to the specialist radiologist. The MRI scan is quite quick and should take no longer than 30 minutes.
Occasionally your doctor may ask specifically for a MRI Enterocolysis small bowel study. This involves putting the solution directly into the stomach via a small tube (rather than drinking it). The tube is inserted into the nose after a spray of local anaesthetic to minimise discomfort. The tube is then guided to the correct position by the specialist Radiologist and the solution is run through this tube into the bowel while you are lying on the MRI scanner.
Please download and print out our MRI Safety Screening Form, complete it and bring it to your appointment. If you answer ‘Yes’ to any of the questions, please contact us prior to your appointment to discuss.
