G.I Investigations

Question 1

What local anaesthetic and injection are mainly used in endoscopy?

Answer 1

Xylocaine - local anaesthetic for back of throat

Midazolam (benzodiazepine) - sedative injection

Question 2

What is the most commonly used tracer in PET-CT?

Answer 2

FDG - Flurodeoxyglucose - a glucose analogue

Question 3

What is the specific G.I. role of MRI scanning?

Answer 3

• Non-invasive imaging of the biliary tree and small bowel
• Local staging of rectal cancer
• Diagnosing liver lesions

Question 4

What is the specific G.I. role of CT scanning?

Answer 4

• Diagnose disease
• Stage Malignancy
• Assess response to treatment
• Carry out percutaneous biopsy

Question 5

What is the specific G.I. role of ultrasound?

Answer 5

• Gallstones

- Gall-cystitis

Question 6

What is the specific G.I. role of MRCP?

Answer 6

• Gallbladder

- Bile Duct

Question 7

What does pneumoperitoneum suggest and how can it be spotted?

Answer 7

It is suggestive of a burst gastric ulcer. If you can see both sides of the bowel then you have gas either side, suggesting pneumoperitoneum. This is subtle and hard to see.

Question 8

What is familial adenomatosis?

Answer 8

It is a ‘carpet’ of small adenomatous polyps. This puts the patient at high risk of developing adenocarcinoma, so total colectomy is generally done at a very young age.