Most inflammatory, neoplastic and vascular disorders manifest bowel wall thickening on computed tomography (CT). Therefore, it is very important to understand the patterns of bowel wall involvement (degree, length, symmetry and contrast enhancement patterns) in each category to make a correct diagnosis. Observing extraluminal changes also help to classify the primary causes of pathological conditions involving the gastrointestinal tract. Adequate CT examinations with optimal opacification of the gastrointestinal tract are essential not only to avoid false positive findings but also to detect subtle or minimal lesions. If findings for establishing a diagnosis are equivocal, the use of combined findings increases the diagnostic accuracy of CT.
Gastrointestinal Diseases/radiography* ; Gastrointestinal Diseases/diagnosis* ; Human ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed/methods*

An intraluminal duodenal diverticulum (IDD) is a rare congenital anomaly consisted of a sac-like mucosal projection within the second portion of the duodenum. Even though most of cases are asymptomatic, patients may develop recurrent abdominal pain, pancreatitis, and gastrointestinal bleeding. We report a case of symptomatic IDD which presented as acute pancreatitis and obscure gastrointestinal bleeding. Diagnosis was made by typical findings of upper GI series and coronal reformatted CT images. Although surgical resection is the treatment of choice, endoscopic incision and ligation with detachable snare was performed which led to a good result.
Acute Disease ; Adult ; Diverticulum/radiography/*surgery ; Duodenal Diseases/radiography/*surgery ; *Endoscopes, Gastrointestinal ; Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage/diagnosis ; Humans ; Pancreatitis/diagnosis

No abstract available.
Acidosis ; Adult ; Colonic Diseases/radiography ; Gastrointestinal Tract/*surgery ; Humans ; Intestinal Fistula/*radiography/*surgery ; Male ; *Tomography, X-Ray Computed

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The role of double balloon enteroscopy (DBE) is still evolving. The aim of this study was to compare the diagnostic yield of DBE with that of small bowel series (SBS). METHODS: We enrolled patients with suspected small bowel disease consecutively, and performed both DBE and SBS in all patients. RESULTS: Eighteen patients (M:F=12:6, 14-82 years) were included. Indications for small bowel evaluation were obscure gastrointestinal bleeding (10), abdominal pain (5), diarrhea (2) and abnormal CT finding (1). Of 10 obscure gastrointestinal bleeding patients, 6 showed the same findings in both studies. However, 4 showed negative findings in SBS while DBE detected erosions or ulcerations. Of 5 abdominal pain patients, 3 showed the same results in both studies. However, 2 demonstrated different results. One was suspected of early Crohn's disease in SBS, but proved to be normal in DBE, and the other was suspected of malignancy in SBS but was suspected of benign ulcers in DBE. Of 2 chronic diarrhea patients, one was diagnosed as Crohn's disease in both studies. The other was suspected of tuberculosis in SBS but diagnosed as lymphangiectasia by DBE with biopsy. One patient with jejunal wall thickening in CT proved to be normal in both DBE and SBS. There were no serious complications associated with DBE and SBS. CONCLUSIONS: DBE is better than SBS in terms of diagnostic accuracy. DBE may become an important method for the evaluation of small bowel diseases.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Endoscopes, Gastrointestinal ; *Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal ; Female ; Humans ; Intestinal Diseases/*diagnosis/radiography ; *Intestine, Small/pathology/radiography ; Male ; Middle Aged

In this pictorial review, we introduce recent technical development of CT scanning in the imaging of the abdominal organs, namely, the gastrointestinal tract, colon, liver, biliary tract, and pancreas. With multidetector- row CT scanner, we can depict the abdominal organs by doing thin-section volumetric images and displaying the images in transverse axial, coronal, and sagittal plane reconstruction with isotropic images. We can see the interior of the abdomen directly as in the operating theatre. In addition, we can see the interior of the gastrointestinal tract as if we are flying through a tunnel.
Humans ; Imaging, Three-Dimensional ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods ; *Radiography, Abdominal ; Tomography, Spiral Computed/*methods ; Adult ; Endoscopes, Gastrointestinal ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Diseases/radiography ; Gastrointestinal Tract/*radiography ; Humans ; Imaging, Three-Dimensional ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Tomography, Spiral Computed/instrumentation/*methods

Brunnera's gland hyperplasia is a benign tumor of the duodenum and it is rarely associated with clinical symptoms. We report on a 64-yr-old man with Brunnera's gland hyperplasia who had undergone a duodenocephalo-pancreatectomy. The reason is that he presented upper gastrointestinal obstructive symptoms and the esophagogastroduodenoscopic finding revealed the lesion to be an infiltrating type mass on the second portion of the duodenum with luminal narrowing. An abdominal computed tomography showed a 2.5 cm-sized mass in the duodenal second portion with a suspicious pancreatic invasion and 7 mm-sized lymph node around the duodenum. Duodenocephalopancreatectomy was successfully performed. Histological examination revealed a Brunnera's gland hyperplasia. The final diagnosis was the coexistence of Brunnera's gland hyperplasia and pancreatic heterotopia with a pancreatic head invasion. The literature on Brunnera's gland hyperplasia is reviewed.
Brunner Glands/*pathology/radiography ; *Choristoma ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Duodenal Neoplasms/*pathology/radiography/surgery ; Duodenum/pathology/radiography ; Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal ; Humans ; Hyperplasia ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pancreatic Diseases/*pathology/radiography ; Pancreaticoduodenectomy ; Severity of Illness Index ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of a transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) with N-butyl cyanoacrylate (NBCA) for the treatment of arterial esophageal bleeding. MATERIALS AND METHODS:Between August 2000 and April 2008, five patients diagnosed with arterial esophageal bleeding by conventional angiography, CT-angiography or endoscopy, underwent a TAE with NBCA. We mixed NBCA with iodized oil at ratios of 1:1 to 1:4 to supply radiopacity and achieve a proper polymerization time. After embolization, we evaluated the angiographic and clinical success, recurrent bleeding, and procedure-related complications. RESULTS: The bleeding esophageal artery directly originated from the aorta in four patients and from the left inferior phrenic artery in one patient. Although four patients had an underlying coagulopathy at the time of the TAE, angiographic and clinical success was achieved in all five patients. In addition, no procedure-related complications such as esophageal infarction were observed during this study. CONCLUSION: NBCA can be an effective and feasible embolic agent in patients with active arterial esophageal bleeding, even with pre-existing coagulopathy.
Adult ; Aged ; Angiography ; Arteries ; Catheterization ; Embolization, Therapeutic/*methods ; Enbucrilate/administration & dosage/*therapeutic use ; Esophageal Diseases/radiography/*therapy ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage/radiography/*therapy ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged

OBJECTIVE: We wanted to describe the computed tomography (CT) findings of gallbladder tuberculosis (TB) and to correlate them with pathologic findings. MATERIALS AND METHODS: There were seven patients (M:F = 3:4; mean age, 46.3 years; age range, 32 to 78 years) in whom gallbladder TB was eventually diagnosed. All of them underwent cross-sectional imaging with CT, a pathologic examination and a retrospective review. CT imaging evaluation was done in each case, including the findings of a mass versus nodule, wall thickening (uniform or irregular) and the enhancement patterns (homogeneous or heterogeneous). RESULTS: All the cases of gallbladder TB revealed the following three different CT findings: micronodular lesion of the gallbladder wall (n = 1), a thickened wall (n = 4) and a gallbladder mass (n = 2). There were three cases of homogeneous enhancement of the lesions, including homogeneous enhancement with nodular lesion, homogeneous uniform thickness enhancement and homogeneous thickness enhancement in one case each, and these cases pathology showed tuberculous granuloma with a little caseating necrosis in one case and tuberculous granuloma with rich fibrous tissue, but little or no evident caseating necrosis in two cases. Four cases of heterogeneous enhancement of the lesions, including heterogeneous uniform-thickness enhancement in two cases, heterogeneous enhancement with a local mass lesion in one case and heterogeneous enhancement with a mass that replaced the gallbladder in one case; in these cases, pathology showed tuberculous granuloma with marked caseation or liquefaction necrosis in three cases and tuberculous granuloma by fibrous and calcifications accompanied by caseating necrosis in one case. Among the seven cases of gallbladder TB, six cases were accompanied by abdominal extra-gallbladder TB, including abdominal lymph node TB in five cases and hepatic TB in four cases. CONCLUSION: Gallbladder TB has various CT manifestations, and the enhanced CT findings are well matched with pathological features. An irregularly thickened gallbladder wall or a gallbladder wall mass with multiple-focus necrosis or calcifications accompanied by the typical CT findings of abdominal extra-gallbladder TB should suggest the diagnosis of gallbladder TB.
Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Gallbladder Diseases/pathology/*radiography ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed/*methods ; Tuberculosis, Gastrointestinal/pathology/*radiography

Duodenal variceal bleeding in patients with portal hypertension due to cirrhosis or other causes is uncommon. We report on a case of a 55-year-old male with an ectopic variceal rupture at the distal fourth part of the duodenum who presented with massive hematochezia and shock. Shortly after achievement of hemodynamic stability, due to the limitation of an endoscopic procedure, we initially attempted to find the bleeding focus by abdominal computed tomography, which showed tortuous duodenal varices that drained into the left gonadal vein. He was treated with first-line balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration (BRTO), resulting in a favorable long-term outcome without rebleeding three years later. This case suggests that BRTO may be a first-line therapeutic option for control of ruptured duodenal varices, especially at a distal location.
Balloon Occlusion ; Duodenal Diseases/*diagnosis/radiography/therapy ; Embolization, Therapeutic ; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage/therapy ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Aortoenteric fistula (AEF) developed after treatment for an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a rare but usually fatal complication. We report a rare case of AEF bleeding after endovascular stent grafting for AAA which was managed angiographically. An 81-year-old man presented with hematochezia and acute abdominal pain for 1 day ago. Four years ago, an aortic stent was implanted in the infrarenal aorta for AAA. Endoscopies were performed to evaluate the hematochezia. Evidence of gastrointestinal bleeding was observed, but a clear bleeding point was not detected on upper endoscopy and colonoscopy. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography performed subsequently showed that the bleeding point was located in the fourth portion of the duodenum as an AEF caused by an inflammatory process in the stent-graft. Intra-arterial angiography showed a massive contrast leakage into the bowel via a small fistula from around the aortic stent graft site. Embolization was successfully performed by injecting a mixture of glue and lipiodol into the AEF tract. The patient was discharged with no evidence of gastrointestinal bleeding after the embolization.
Aged, 80 and over ; Angiography ; Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal/*therapy ; Aortic Diseases/*etiology/radiography/therapy ; Embolization, Therapeutic ; Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal ; Fistula/*etiology/radiography/therapy ; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage/therapy ; Humans ; Male ; Stents/*adverse effects ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed