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Nonischemic Colitis

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CT of the Acute Abdomen

Part of the book series: Medical Radiology ((Med Radiol Diagn Imaging))

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Abstract

Many patients with acute colitis present with abdominal pain or other nonspecific symptoms. In these patients, multidetector row CT is often used as the initial diagnostic test, which plays a pivotal role. This imaging technique can demonstrate inflammatory changes in the colonic wall, determine the extent of the disease, and detect the potential complications. In addition, multidetector row CT helps identify myriad extracolonic conditions that are responsible for the nonspecific symptoms should the patients have a cause of symptoms other than colitis. In most cases, the specific cause of colitis is determined on the basis of the results of clinical examination, laboratory tests, optical colonoscopy, and colonic biopsy. However, in equivocal cases or emergency situations, multidetector row CT findings help narrow the differential diagnosis. Many multidetector row CT features or patterns are helpful in distinguishing between the various types of colitis. They include the degree of wall thickening and colonic edema, the extent and location of the disease, extraluminal manifestations, and types of complication. Multidetector row CT has a critical role in determining the most appropriate therapeutic approach in a substantial number of cases.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Abdominal Imaging, Hôpital Lariboisière-AP-HP, Université Diderot-Paris 7, 2, rue Ambroise Paré, Paris Cedex 10, 75475, France

    Philippe Soyer, Mourad Boudiaf & Youcef Guerrache

  2. Department of Radiology, Hôpital Robert Debré, 11, boulevard Pasteur, Reims Cedex, 51092, France

    Christine Hoeffel

  3. Department of Digestive Diseases, Hôpital Lariboisière-AP-HP, Université Diderot-Paris 7, 2, rue Ambroise Paré, Paris Cedex 10, 75475, France

    Xavier Dray

  4. Department of Medical Imaging, Hôpital Lapeyronie, 371, avenue du Doyen Gaston Giraud, Montpellier Cedex 5, 34295, France

    Patrice Taourel

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  1. Philippe Soyer
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  2. Mourad Boudiaf
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  3. Youcef Guerrache
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  4. Christine Hoeffel
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  5. Xavier Dray
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  6. Patrice Taourel
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Correspondence to Philippe Soyer .

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  1. Imagerie Médicale, Hôpital Lapeyronie, avenue du Doyen Gaston Giraud 371, Montpellier CX 5, 34295, France

    Patrice Taourel

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Soyer, P., Boudiaf, M., Guerrache, Y., Hoeffel, C., Dray, X., Taourel, P. (2011). Nonischemic Colitis. In: Taourel, P. (eds) CT of the Acute Abdomen. Medical Radiology(). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/174_2011_159

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/174_2011_159

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-89231-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-89232-8

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