Fluoroscopy
| Barium Swallow | Nothing to eat after midnight |
| Upper GI +/- small bowel study | Adult – Nothing to eat after midnight Infant – Skip last feeding before test |
| Barium Enema | On the day before the examination, only clear liquids may be taken. Follow the instructions on the LoSo Bowel Cleansing Prep Kit. Nothing to eat after midnight |
| IVP (Intravenous pyelogram) | On the day before the examination, only clear liquids may be taken. An over the counter laxative is to be taken at 3 pm. Nothing to eat after midnight |
| Arthrogram | No preparation necessary |
Ultrasound
| Abdomen | Nothing to eat/drink 8 hrs prior to exam |
| Renal or Aorta | Nothing to eat 2 hrs prior to exam. Patients receiving renal ultrasound need to hold their bladder 1 hour prior to the exam |
| Breast, thyroid, scrotum, carotid duplex, venous duplex | No preparation necessary |
| Pelvic or Obstetric (1st trimester) | Drink 32 oz water one hour prior to exam. Do not urinate until after the exam |
| Obstetric (2nd or 3rd trimester) | Drink 16 oz water one hour prior to exam. Do not urinate until after the exam |
CT Scan
| With IV contrast | Nothing to eat/drink 2 hrs prior to appointment time. If you are allergic to contrast, click here. If you are taking Metformin (Glucophage), do not take this medication for 48 hours following the examination |
| With IV and oral contrast | Oral contrast is to be taken 2 hours prior to the examination. Nothing by mouth once oral contrast is started. If you are allergic to contrast, click here. If you are taking Metformin (Glucophage), do not take this medication for 48 hours following the examination. |
| Without contrast | No special preparation |
MRI
| Brain, head, face, extremities, spine, chest | No restrictions prior to exam. May eat and take meds as normal. |
| Abdomen (Liver, MRCP, kidney, adrenal, pancreas, spleen, renal MRA) | Nothing to eat/drink 6 hours prior to exam. Take your medicines as prescribed with a small sip of water. Please refrain from any medicines that are to be taken with food until after your exam. |
| Soft tissue pelvis (Urethra, ovary, uterus, mass, vaginal/rectal fistula, prostate, MRA pelvis, urogram) | Nothing to eat/drink 6 hours prior to exam. Take your medicines as prescribed with a small sip of water. Please refrain from any medicines that are to be taken with food until after your exam. Complete an enema the morning of the exam in addition to above instructions. |
| Bony pelvis | No restrictions prior to exam. May eat and take meds as normal. |
| Defaecogram | Complete an enema the morning of the exam. May eat and drink as normal |
Canceling an exam
We kindly request 24 hours notice to cancel any exam. Please call (540) 741-XRAY (9729)
Taking your medications on the day of your exam
For most radiology exams, you may take your medications as directed. For those exams that require you to be NPO (nothing to eat or drink by mouth after midnight), we allow you to take your daily medications with a small sip of water. There are a few exams that will require a change in your medication. For a thyroid scan, the patient would need to stop taking thyroid medications for 2 weeks prior to the exam (6 weeks prior for an IVP). Prior to a bone densitometry scan, please do not take any pills containing calcium for 24 hours prior to the scan. RAF schedulers will review preparations with you at the time of scheduling. Check with your physician before stopping any medications.