Increased unenhanced bowel-wall attenuation at multidetector CT is highly specific of ischemia complicating small-bowel obstruction.

Purpose: To evaluate performance of increased bowel-wall attenuation on unenhanced 64-section multidetector computed tomographic (CT) images for diagnosing bowel-wall ischemia in patients with mechanical small-bowel obstruction (SBO) and to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of multidetector CT in detecting small-bowel ischemia complicating SBO, with surgical and histopathologic findings as reference standard.

Materials And Methods: The local institutional review board approved this retrospective study; informed consent requirement was waived. In 44 patients (10 men, 34 women; age range, 30-100 years) who were admitted because they were suspected of having SBO and treated surgically within the next 7 days, 45 multidetector CT scans were retrospectively reviewed.

CT findings of misleading features of colonic diverticulitis.

Colonic diverticulitis (CD) is a common entity whose diagnosis is particularly based on computed tomography (CT) examination, which is the imaging technique of choice. However, unusual CT findings of CD may lead to several difficulties and potential pitfalls: due to technical errors in the management of the CT examination, due to the anatomical situation of the diseased colon, in diagnosing unusual complications that may concern the gastrointestinal tract, intra- and retroperitoneal viscera or the abdominal wall, and in differentiating CD from other abdominal inflammatory and infectious conditions or colonic cancer. The aim of this work is to delineate the pitfalls of CT imaging and illustrate misleading CT features in patients with suspected CD.

Multidetector CT angiography in acute gastrointestinal bleeding: why, when, and how.

Acute gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding remains an important cause of emergency hospital admissions, with substantial related morbidity and mortality. Bleeding may relate to the upper or lower GI tract, with the dividing anatomic landmark between these two regions being the ligament of Treitz. The widespread availability of endoscopic equipment has had an important effect on the rapid identification and treatment of the bleeding source.

Accuracy of multidetector computed tomography in differentiating primary epiploic appendagitis from left acute colonic diverticulitis associated with secondary epiploic appendagitis.

The objectives of this study are to evaluate the prevalence of left acute colonic diverticulitis (LACD) associated with secondary epiploic appendagitis (SEA) detected by computed tomography (CT); to describe CT features that distinguish LACD associated with SEA from primary epiploic appendagitis (PEA); and to assess the accuracy of CT in diagnosing LACD associated with SEA versus PEA. Institutional review board approval was obtained. We retrospectively identified 46 consecutive patients with LACD between July 2004 and July 2005 and 26 patients with PEA between 2000 and 2005 investigated using multidetector CT.

Location of the transition zone in CT of small-bowel obstruction: added value of multiplanar reformations.

Purpose: To assess the additional value of multiplanar reformations (MPR) in comparison with axial images alone for location of the transition zone in CT of mechanical small-bowel obstruction (SBO).

Materials And Methods: Sixty-nine consecutive patients with mechanical SBO underwent 16-slice multi detector row CT (MDCT). The gold standard for the precise location of the transition zone was established by two experienced abdominal radiologists, unblinded to clinical and surgical reports, reviewing all CT examinations.

Cerebral venous thrombosis and multidetector CT angiography: tips and tricks.

Because of the great diversity of clinical features, its unforeseeable evolution, and a small proportion of cases that will worsen in the acute phase, cerebral venous thrombosis must be diagnosed as early as possible so that specific treatment can be started, typically transcatheter thrombolysis or systemic anticoagulation. Unenhanced computed tomography (CT) is usually the first imaging study performed on an emergency basis. Unenhanced CT allows detection of ischemic changes related to venous insufficiency and sometimes demonstrates a hyperattenuating thrombosed dural sinus or vein.