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Doctors discovered a second small growth in President = Reagan's=20 intestinal tract in his annual physical examination Friday, but the = growth was=20 not a precursor of cancer, the White House announced today.
The doctors also detected signs of blood in the = President's stool,=20 Larry Speakes, the White House spokesman, told reporters at a briefing = where the=20 doctors were not present. He said they had not determined the cause but = believed=20 it to be from the polyp or a false reading caused by the President's = diet.
Over all, the results of the physical, perfomed at the = Naval Medical=20 Center in Bethesda, Md., were excellent, according to Mr. Reagan's = doctors.
Capt. Walter Karney, chief of internal medicine at the = naval=20 hospital, who led the examining doctors, was quoted by the White House = as=20 saying:
''President Reagan continues to enjoy good health. His = overall=20 physical and mental condition is excellent. I am especially impressed = with the=20 fact that his blood pressure is lower than a year ago - this is quite=20 remarkable.''
The President's blood pressure while lying down was = measured at 130=20 over 74. His pulse while resting was reported as 57 beats a minute, = which Mr.=20 Speakes described as ''probably lower than most of us.''
Mr. Reagan, who is 74 years old, is the oldest person ever = to be=20 President. His health and ability to perform in office became an issue = in last=20 year's campaign after he appeared to stumble verbally in a debate with = the=20 Democratic candidate, Walter F. Mondale. The small growth found in Mr. = Reagan's=20 colon this year was described as a ''small inflammatory pseudo-polyp.'' = Mr.=20 Speakes said the new growth was ''exactly the same kind'' as the small = growth=20 found last year. The doctors last year described the growth as an = ''inflammatory=20 fibroid polyp'' but Mr. Speakes said doctors were simply using a = ''difference in=20 terminology'' to describe the same phenomenon.
He said a microscopic examination of the new growth had = shown it to=20 be noncancerous. ''There is no clinical evidence that this kind of polyp = ever=20 becomes malignant,'' he said.
The growth was detected by an examination in which a = flexible tube=20 was inserted about one-third of the way into the President's colon to = look for=20 signs of disease. The new growth, like the one last year, was about = one-sixth of=20 an inch in diameter, close to the smallest such growth that can be = detected,=20 according to medical specialists. It was about 18 inches from the anal = opening,=20 some two inches from last year's growth.
No Evidence of Growth
However, this year there was no evidence remaining of the = growth=20 found last year, indicating either that it had been completely removed = in last=20 year's examination, even though doctors thought they had removed only = part of=20 it, or that the remnant of the polyp had disappeared naturally.
Part of the new growth was snipped off by doctors to = perform the=20 biopsy.
Mr. Speakes said the examination had revealed outward = pouches on the=20 wall of the President's colon accompanied by inflammation and a = weakening of the=20 intestinal wall. He said such diverticula occurred in many people over = the age=20 of 50. The pouches were noted in previous physical examinations, Mr. = Speakes=20 said.
Before the examination four tests were conducted at the = White House=20 on Mr. Reagan's feces to detect hidden blood. Two tests indicated its = presence,=20 Mr. Speakes said.
''Physicians believe this may be from the polyp or from = the diet,''=20 Mr. Speakes added. He said dietary factors, such as red meat or certain=20 vegetables, could fool the test, which was described as ''extremely=20 sensitive.''
Mr. Reagan is to go on a temporary special diet, = recommended by the=20 American Cancer Society, in preparation for another round of tests of = the feces,=20 Mr. Speakes added. Based on the results doctors will decide whether = further=20 treatment is needed. The diet is not expected to be permanent, he = said.
One of the Warning Signs
Mr. Speakes noted that unusual bleeding is one of the = seven warning=20 signs of cancer established by the cancer society, but he said White = House=20 doctors did not know whether there was unusual bleeding.
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