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Clinical Use:
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Barium and barium compounds have a variety of uses including as getters in electronic tubes (barium alloys), rodenticide (barium carbonate), colorant in paints (barium carbonate and barium sulphate), and x-ray contrast medium (barium sulphate).
Barium sulphate is used in medical applications as a contrast media for x-ray examination of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Barium provides an opaque contrasting medium when ingested or given by enema prior to x-ray examination, and can be used to show the structure of the oesophagus, the stomach, the small intestine, rectum, colon and large intestine.
Under routine medical situations, barium sulphate is generally safe. However, insoluble barium compounds may potentially be toxic when it is introduced into the GI tract under conditions where there is colon cancer or perforations of the GI tract and barium is able to enter the blood stream.
The predominant effect is hypokalemia, which can result in ventricular tachycardia, hypertension and/or hypotension, muscle weakness, and paralysis. In addition to the effects associated with hypokalemia, gastrointestinal effects such as vomiting, abdominal cramps, and watery diarrhoea are typically reported shortly after ingestion. |