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Previous Volume 348:2582-2583 June 19, 2003 Number 25 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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To the Editor: It seems unjustified to refer to a radiographic study using barium sulfate suspension as "A Deadly Examination," as Fruchter and Dragu do (March 13 issue).¹ The patient in this case may have died because of the aspiration of gastric contents, which only incidentally contained barium sulfate in suspension. The harmful effects of aspiration of gastric contents are well known and include the effects of acid, enzymes, and organic foreign material, as well as mechanical interference with gas exchange. Barium sulfate suspension, on the other hand, has been used for bronchography in the past.

James Whiting, M.D.
Portland . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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