A population-based study of the appearances of enteric and non-typhoidal infections on computed tomography.

Background: Swift identification and diagnosis of gastrointestinal infections are crucial for prompt treatment, prevention of complications, and reduction of the risk of hospital transmission. The radiological appearance on computed tomography could potentially provide important clues to the etiology of gastrointestinal infections. We aimed to describe features based on computed tomography of patients diagnosed with or infections in South Sweden.

Methods: This was a retrospective observational population-based cohort study conducted between 2019 and 2022 in Skåne, southern Sweden, a region populated by 1.4 million people. Using data from the Department of Clinical Microbiology combined with data from the Department of Radiology, we identified all patients who underwent computed tomography of the abdomen CTA two days before and up to seven days after sampling due to the suspicion of or during the study period.

Results: A total of 215 CTAs scans performed on 213 patients during the study period were included in the study. The median age of included patients was 45 years (range 11-86 years), and 54% (114/213) of the patients were women. Of the 215 CTAs, 80% ( = 172) had been performed due to and 20% ( = 43) due to enteritis. CTA was not performed for any individual diagnosed with during the study period. There were no statistically significant differences in the radiological presentation of and infections.

Conclusion: The most common location of and infections was the cecum, followed by the ascending colon. Enteric wall edema, contrast loading of the affected mucosa, and enteric fat stranding are typical features of both infections. The CTA characteristics of and are similar, and cannot be used to reliably differentiate between different infectious etiologies.