The Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis and Treatment of a Bowel Obstruction

Diagnosis. A doctor diagnoses bowel obstruction by listening to the patient’s symptoms and conducting a physical exam. They may palpate the patient’s abdomen to see whether it is tender or to find a mass. They might also use a stethoscope to listen to bowel sounds. The doctor orders urine and blood tests and imaging tests. The patient may also have an X-ray, CT scan or ultrasound to properly diagnose their problem. An X-ray is often enough to confirm the diagnosis, though there are some types of obstructions that an X-ray can miss. In that case, a CT scan, which creates detailed images out of many X-rays taken at different angles, should be able to find the obstruction. Ultrasound, which uses sound waves, is the imaging test that doctors prefer to use on children, especially if they’re believed to have an intussusception.