To diagnose intestinal pseudo-obstruction, a health care provider may suggest the person consult a gastroenterologista doctor who specializes in digestive diseases. A health care provider will perform a physical exam; take a complete medical history, imaging studies, and a biopsy; and perform blood tests. A health care provider may order other tests to confirm the diagnosis. The health care provider also will look for the cause of the condition, such as an underlying illness.
                
Intestinal pseudo-obstruction can be difficult to diagnose, especially primary intestinal pseudo-obstruction. As a result, a correct diagnosis may take a long time.
                
Physical Exam
                
A physical exam is one of the first things a health care provider may do to help diagnose intestinal pseudo-obstruction. During a physical exam, a health care provider usually
                
- examines a persons body  - uses a stethoscope to listen to bodily sounds  - taps on specific areas of the persons body
                
Medical History
                
The health care provider will ask a person to provide a medical and family history to help diagnose intestinal pseudo-obstruction.
                
Imaging Studies
                
A health care provider may order the following imaging studies:
                
- Abdominal x ray. An x ray is a picture recorded on film or a computer that a technician takes using low-level radiation. The amount of radiation used is small. An x-ray technician takes the x ray at a hospital or an outpatient center, and a radiologista doctor who specializes in medical imaginginterprets the images. A person does not need anesthesia. The person will lie on a table or stand during the x ray. The technician positions the x-ray machine over the abdominal area. The person will hold his or her breath as the technician takes the picture so that the picture will not be blurry. The technician may ask the person to change position for additional pictures. An x ray of the abdominal area will show whether symptoms are due to an intestinal blockage.  - Upper GI series. A health care provider may order an upper GI series to look at the small intestine. An x-ray technician performs the test at a hospital or an outpatient center, and a radiologist interprets the images; the health care provider may give infants and children anesthesia. A person should not eat or drink for 8 hours before the procedure, if possible. During the procedure, the person will stand or sit in front of an x-ray machine and drink barium, a chalky liquid. Infants lie on a table and the technician will give them barium through a tiny tube placed in the nose that runs into the stomach. Barium coats the lining of the small intestine, making signs of obstruction show up more clearly on x rays.  A person may experience bloating and nausea for a short time after the test. Barium liquid in the GI tract causes stools to be white or light colored for several days or longer in people with intestinal pseudo-obstruction. A health care provider will give the person specific instructions about eating and drinking after the test.  - Lower GI series. A health care provider may order a lower GI series, an x-ray exam to look at the large intestine. An x-ray technician performs the test at a hospital or an outpatient center, and a radiologist interprets the images. A person does not need anesthesia. The health care provider may provide written bowel prep instructions to follow at home before the test. The health care provider may ask the person to follow a clear liquid diet for 1 to 3 days before the procedure. A person may need to use a laxative or an enema before the test. A laxative is medication that loosens stool and increases bowel movements. An enema involves flushing water or laxative into the anus using a special squirt bottle.  For the test, the person will lie on a table while the health care provider inserts a flexible tube into the persons anus. The health care provider will fill the large intestine with barium, making signs of underlying problems show up more clearly on x rays. The test can show problems with the large intestine that are causing the persons symptoms.  Barium liquid in the GI tract causes stools to be white or light colored for several days or longer in people with intestinal pseudo-obstruction. Enemas and repeated bowel movements may cause anal soreness. A health care provider will provide specific instructions about eating and drinking after the test.  - Computerized tomography (CT) scan. CT scans use a combination of x rays and computer technology to create images. An x-ray technician performs the test at a hospital or an outpatient center, and a radiologist interprets the images. For a CT scan, a health care provider may give the person a solution to drink and an injection of a special dye, called contrast medium. CT scans require the person to lie on a table that slides into a tunnel-shaped device where the technician takes the x rays. CT scans can show both the internal and external intestinal wall. The health care provider may give children a sedative to help them fall asleep for the test.  - Upper GI endoscopy. This procedure involves using an endoscopea small, flexible tube with a lightto see the upper GI tract, which includes the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum. A gastroenterologist performs the test at a hospital or an outpatient center. The gastroenterologist carefully feeds the endoscope down the esophagus and into the stomach and duodenum. A small camera mounted on the endoscope transmits a video image to a monitor, allowing close examination of the intestinal lining. A health care provider may give a person a liquid anesthetic to gargle or may spray anesthetic on the back of the persons throat. A health care provider will place an intravenous (IV) needle in a vein in the arm to administer sedation. Sedatives help patients stay relaxed and comfortable. This test can show blockages or other conditions in the upper small intestine. A gastroenterologist may obtain a biopsy of the lining of the small intestine during an upper GI endoscopy.
                
Biopsy
                
A gastroenterologist can obtain a biopsy of the intestinal wall during endoscopy or during surgery, if the person has surgery for intestinal pseudo-obstruction and the cause is unknown. If the health care provider needs to examine the nerves in the intestinal wall, a deeper biopsy, which a gastroenterologist can typically obtain only during surgery, is necessary.
                
A biopsy is a procedure that involves taking a piece of the intestinal wall tissue for examination with a microscope. A health care provider performs the biopsy in a hospital and uses light sedation and local anesthetic; the health care provider uses general anesthesia if performing the biopsy during surgery. A pathologista doctor who specializes in diagnosing diseasesexamines the intestinal tissue in a lab. Diagnosing problems in the nerve pathways of the intestinal tissue requires special techniques that are not widely available.
                
A health care provider can also use a biopsy obtained during endoscopy to rule out celiac disease. Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder in which people cannot tolerate gluten because it damages the lining of their small intestine and prevents absorption of nutrients. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley and in products such as vitamin and nutrient supplements, lip balms, and certain medications.
                
Blood Tests
                
A blood test involves drawing blood at a health care providers office or a commercial facility and sending the sample to a lab for analysis. The blood test can show the presence of other diseases or conditions that may be causing a persons symptoms. The blood test also can show levels of essential vitamins and minerals to help detect malnutrition.
                
Manometry
                
Manometry is a test that measures muscle pressure and movements in the GI tract, such as how well the smooth muscles of the stomach and small intestine contract and relax. A gastroenterologist performs the test at a hospital or an outpatient center. While the person is under sedation, a health care provider places a thin tube, or manometry tube, into the stomach and moves it down into the small intestine. A gastroenterologist may use an endoscope to place this tube. A health care provider will move the person to a manometry room and connect the manometry tube to a computer. When the person wakes up from sedation, the computer records the pressure inside the intestine while the person is fasting and after the person has eaten a meal. Manometry can confirm the diagnosis of intestinal pseudo-obstruction and show the extent of the condition.
                
Gastric Emptying Tests
                
Gastric emptying tests can show if a disorder called gastroparesis is causing a persons symptoms. People with gastroparesis, which literally refers to a paralyzed stomach, have severely delayed gastric emptying, or the delayed movement of food from the stomach to the small intestine. Some patients with intestinal pseudo-obstruction also have gastroparesis.
                
Types of gastric emptying tests include the following:
                
- Gastric emptying scintigraphy. This test involves eating a bland mealsuch as eggs or an egg substitutethat contains a small amount of radioactive material. A specially trained technician performs the test in a radiology center or hospital, and a radiologist interprets the results; the person does not need anesthesia. An external camera scans the abdomen to show where the radioactive material is located. The radiologist is then able to measure the rate of gastric emptying at 1, 2, 3, and 4 hours after the meal. Normal values depend on the composition of the meal. With some meals, if more than 10 percent of the meal is still in the stomach at 4 hours, a health care provider confirms the diagnosis of gastroparesis. Obtaining scans for 4 hours after the meal is essential. When the technician only obtains scans 1 to 2 hours after the meal, the results are often unreliable.  - Breath test. With this test, the person eats a meal containing a small amount of nonradioactive material. Then, the health care provider takes breath samples over a period of several hours to measure the amount of nonradioactive material in the exhaled breath. The results allow the health care provider to calculate how fast the stomach is emptying.  - SmartPill. The SmartPill is a small electronic device in capsule form. The SmartPill test is available at specialized outpatient centers. The person swallows the device so that it can move through the entire digestive tract and send information to a cell-phone-sized receiver worn around the persons waist or neck. The recorded information provides details about how quickly food travels through each part of the digestive tract.