Radiology, Vol 175, 691-694, Copyright © 1990 by Radiological Society of North America

ARTICLES

Atypical hyperplastic polyps at double-contrast barium enema examination

MS Levine, MJ Barnes, MP Bronner, SE Rubesin and SH Saul
Department of Radiology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia 19104.

At radiography, hyperplastic polyps classically appear as smooth, sessile elevations less than 5 mm in diameter. However, a retrospective review of double-contrast barium enema studies in 22 patients with 31 pathologically proved hyperplastic polyps revealed an average polyp size of 7.3 mm, with a range of 3-21 mm. Fifteen polyps (48%) were 2-5 mm, 12 (39%) were 6-10 mm, and four (13%) were greater than 10 mm in diameter. Twenty-nine polyps (94%) were sessile, and two polyps (6%) were pedunculated. Twenty-three polyps (74%) had a smooth contour, and eight polyps (26%) were lobulated. Twenty-six of the hyperplastic polyps (84%) were located in the rectosigmoid colon. If the radiologic criteria for an atypical hyperplastic polyp at double-contrast barium enema examination include size greater than 5 mm, lobulation, and/or pedunculation, 16 of the 31 hyperplastic polyps (52%) could be classified as atypical. Thus, radiologists should be aware that many hyperplastic polyps seen at double-contrast barium enema examination do not fit the classic description of a smooth, sessile elevation less than 5 mm in size but instead appear as larger, more lobulated lesions that are indistinguishable from adenomatous polyps.

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				M. S. Levine, S. E. Rubesin, I. Laufer, and H. Herlinger Diagnosis of Colorectal Neoplasms at Double-Contrast Barium Enema Examination Radiology, July 1, 2000; 216(1): 11 - 18. [Abstract] [Full Text]