ABSTRACT

Objective:

to compare supine magnetic resonance defaecography (MRD) and evacuation proctography (EP) for evaluation of the posterior pelvic compartment.

Materials and Methods:

Data were collected retrospectively for patients with OD who underwent both MRD and EP between 2008 and 2011. Comparison was made using McNemar test for correlated proportions. Sixteen patients underwent both diagnostic studies. The average patient age was 39 years, and 81% were female.

Results:

Recto-rectal intussusception was apparent in 50% of patients on EP vs. 43% on MRD (p = 0.999), and 62% of patients had a rectocele on EP vs. 56% on MRD. During EP, 75% of the patients were able to evacuate more than half of the pre-instilled rectal contrast, compared to only 37% during MRD (p = 0.016). The rate of incomplete evacuation was significantly greater during MRD than during EP.

Conclusion:

no significant difference was evidenced in detection of posterior pelvic compartment pathology between EP and MRD.