CT imaging of acute E. Coli-related colitis

Abstract

Patients with abdominal pain and bloody diarrhea often present in the acute setting to the emergency department for evaluation. After the appropriate clinical assessment, cross-sectional imaging is often utilized to evaluate for the severity of the disease. Although a wide spectrum of findings may be seen, diffuse colonic mural thickening, consistent with pancolitis, is most common. We report an Escherichia coli 0157:H7-related pancolitis in a patient with spinach intake linked to the recent outbreak.