ABSTRACT
Barium meal examination of the upper gastrointestinal tract is a widely performed investigation readily available to general practitioners and hospital outpatient departments. To investigate the rates of abnormality on barium meal examination at Prince Ali Hospital, Karak-Jordan. The reports of barium meal examinations of patients attending radiology departments at Prince Ali Hospital between Jan. 1999-Jan. 2007 were retrospectively analysed. Young patients [those under40] were 61% [606/1000]. There were 616 [61.6%] male and 384 [38.4%] female. Most of the patients [81%] had been referred by their general practitioner. Abnormality rates were 31.2%. Rates of both major and minor abnormalities were significantly higher in male than female. Barium meal is an efficient, cost-effective technique, which should be requested only when indicated as the primary method of investigation of the upper gastrointestinal tract