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Lassandro G, Picchi SG, Romano F, Sica G, Lieto R, Bocchini G, Guarino S, Lassandro F. Intestinal pneumatosis: differential diagnosis. Abdom Radiol (NY) 2022; 47:1529-1540. [PMID: 32737548 DOI: 10.1007/s00261-020-02639-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2020] [Revised: 06/21/2020] [Accepted: 07/04/2020] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Intestinal pneumatosis (IP) is an infrequent radiological sign defined as pathological gas infiltration into the bowel wall. It may be associated to different underlying clinical conditions-inflammatory bowel diseases, malignancies, chemotherapy, infections, immune deficiency status, trauma, intestinal ischemia, and necrosis-that are often related to emergency state and require a prompt diagnosis. All the imaging techniques, especially abdominal radiography and Computed Tomography, could detect the presence of IP and discern the forms related to emergency conditions. The differential diagnosis is essential to start an immediate clinical or surgical management and treatment. The aim of this article is to review the radiological features of IP in different illnesses, with particular attention to differential diagnosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Lassandro
- Department of Advanced Biomedical Sciences, Federico II University, Naples, Italy
| | | | | | - Giacomo Sica
- Department of Radiology, Monaldi Hospital, Naples, Italy
| | - Roberta Lieto
- Department of Radiology, Monaldi Hospital, Naples, Italy
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Reginelli A, Sangiovanni A, Vacca G, Belfiore MP, Pignatiello M, Viscardi G, Clemente A, Urraro F, Cappabianca S. Chemotherapy-induced bowel ischemia: diagnostic imaging overview. Abdom Radiol (NY) 2022; 47:1556-1564. [PMID: 33811514 PMCID: PMC9038829 DOI: 10.1007/s00261-021-03024-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2020] [Revised: 02/19/2021] [Accepted: 02/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Cancer patients need multimodal therapies to treat their disease increasingly. In particular, drug treatment, as chemotherapy, immunotherapy, or various associations between them are commonly used to increase efficacy. However, the use of drugs predisposes a percentage of patients to develop toxicity in multiple organs and systems. Principle chemotherapy drugs mechanism of action is cell replication inhibition, rapidly proliferating cells especially. Immunotherapy is another tumor therapy strategy based on antitumor immunity activation trough agents as CTLA4 inhibitors (ipilimumab) or PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors as nivolumab. If, on the one hand, all these agents inhibit tumor growth, on the other, they can cause various degrees toxicity in several organs, due to their specific mechanism of action. Particularly interesting are bowel toxicity, which can be clinically heterogeneous (pain, nausea, diarrhea, enterocolitis, pneumocolitis), up to severe consequences, such as ischemia, a rare occurrence. However, this event can occur both in vessels that supply intestine and in submucosa microvessels. We report drug-related intestinal vascular damage main characteristics, showing the radiological aspect of these alterations. Interpretation of imaging in oncologic patients has become progressively more complicated in the context of “target therapy” and thanks to the increasing number and types of therapies provided. Radiologists should know this variety of antiangiogenic treatments and immunotherapy regimens first because they can determine atypical features of tumor response and then also because of their eventual bowel toxicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alfonso Reginelli
- Department of Precision Medicine, University of Campania "L. Vanvitelli,", 80138, Naples, Italy.
| | - Angelo Sangiovanni
- Department of Precision Medicine, University of Campania "L. Vanvitelli,", 80138, Naples, Italy
| | - Giovanna Vacca
- Department of Precision Medicine, University of Campania "L. Vanvitelli,", 80138, Naples, Italy
| | - Maria Paola Belfiore
- Department of Precision Medicine, University of Campania "L. Vanvitelli,", 80138, Naples, Italy
| | - Maria Pignatiello
- Department of Precision Medicine, University of Campania "L. Vanvitelli,", 80138, Naples, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Viscardi
- Department of Precision Medicine, University of Campania "L. Vanvitelli,", 80138, Naples, Italy
| | - Alfredo Clemente
- Department of Precision Medicine, University of Campania "L. Vanvitelli,", 80138, Naples, Italy
| | - Fabrizio Urraro
- Department of Precision Medicine, University of Campania "L. Vanvitelli,", 80138, Naples, Italy
| | - Salvatore Cappabianca
- Department of Precision Medicine, University of Campania "L. Vanvitelli,", 80138, Naples, Italy
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Pinto A, Lanzetta MM, Addeo G, Bonini MC, Grazzini G, Miele V. Errors in MDCT diagnosis of acute mesenteric ischemia. Abdom Radiol (NY) 2022; 47:1699-1713. [PMID: 32918107 DOI: 10.1007/s00261-020-02732-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2020] [Revised: 08/17/2020] [Accepted: 08/30/2020] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
The causes of diagnostic errors during daily medical practice can be several, mainly attributable to perceptual, interpretive and communication factors. The eventuality of radiological error is much more amplified in the emergency setting where a high number of complex multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT) images must be evaluated quickly and critical time decisions need to be taken. In particular, in this context, the diagnosis of vascular intestinal diseases represents a crucial and difficult challenge in case of acute abdominal pain given the importance of being able to identify patient with high suspicious for intestinal ischemia and for a specific patient to judge if his ischemia is reversible or irreversible. Awareness of potential biases which can lead to diagnostic errors together with an extensive knowledge of the imaging features of these pathologies can lead to promptly recognize them with fewer mistakes, improving patients' outcome. This article reviews the MDCT findings of acute intestinal ischemia and acute colonic ischemia and analyzes the main types of diagnostic errors, underlining the importance of being familiarized with them to avoid misdiagnosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Pinto
- Department of Radiology, CTO Hospital, Azienda Ospedaliera dei Colli, Naples, Italy
| | - Monica Marina Lanzetta
- Department of Emergency Radiology, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Careggi, L.go G.A. Brambilla, 3, 50134, Florence, Italy
| | - Gloria Addeo
- Department of Emergency Radiology, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Careggi, L.go G.A. Brambilla, 3, 50134, Florence, Italy.
| | - Maria Cristina Bonini
- Department of Emergency Radiology, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Careggi, L.go G.A. Brambilla, 3, 50134, Florence, Italy
| | - Giulia Grazzini
- Department of Emergency Radiology, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Careggi, L.go G.A. Brambilla, 3, 50134, Florence, Italy
| | - Vittorio Miele
- Department of Emergency Radiology, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Careggi, L.go G.A. Brambilla, 3, 50134, Florence, Italy
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Scaglione M, Galluzzo M, Santucci D, Trinci M, Messina L, Laccetti E, Faiella E, Beomonte Zobel B. Small bowel obstruction and intestinal ischemia: emphasizing the role of MDCT in the management decision process. Abdom Radiol (NY) 2022; 47:1541-1555. [PMID: 33057806 DOI: 10.1007/s00261-020-02800-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2020] [Revised: 09/21/2020] [Accepted: 09/29/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
The objective of this article is to assess the computed tomography (CT) findings of small bowel obstruction (SBO) complicated by ischemia. SBO is a frequent clinical entity characterized by high morbidity and mortality. The radiologic aim is not just to diagnose the obstruction itself but to rule out the presence of complications related to SBO. This is crucial for differentiating which patients can be safely treated non-operatively from the ones who may need an urgent surgical approach. The main complication of SBO is intestinal ischemia. In the emergency setting, CT imaging is the modality of choice for SBO because of its ability to assess the bowel wall, the supporting mesentery and peritoneal cavity all in one. On the other hand, the radiologist who documents an intestinal ischemia should think about SBO as possible cause. In this case, the main finding which helps the radiologist in the identification of SBO is the presence of multiple and packed valvulae conniventes in the dilated bowel wall and the "transition zone" that indicates the passage between compressed and decompressed small bowel, otherwise the localization of the obstruction cause. Once the site of obstruction has been recognized, the other issue is to assess the cause of obstruction, considering that the most common cause of SBO remains "unidentified" and related to intra-abdominal adhesions. After that, the following most important point is to rule out the presence of an ischemic bowel and mesenteric changes associated to SBO. CT signs of bowel ischemia include reduced or increased bowel wall enhancement, mesenteric edema or engorgement, fluid or free air in the peritoneal cavity. This condition usually leads to an urgent laparotomy and, in some cases, to a surgical resection.
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Tang W, Zhang J, Kuang LQ, Yi KM, Li CX, Wang Y. Relationship of superior mesenteric artery thrombus density with transmural intestinal necrosis on multidetector computed tomography in acute mesenteric ischemia. Quant Imaging Med Surg 2021; 11:3120-3132. [PMID: 34249639 DOI: 10.21037/qims-20-604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2020] [Accepted: 03/12/2021] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
Background Acute arterial occlusive mesenteric ischemia with transmural intestinal necrosis (TIN) is a fatal disease, which is difficult to diagnose on multidetector computed tomography (MDCT). The aim of the present study was to determine the relationship of superior mesenteric artery (SMA) thrombus density with TIN on MDCT in patients with acute mesenteric ischemia (AMI) due to SMA thromboembolism. Methods In this retrospective study, 33 patients who underwent abdominal MDCT and angiography for AMI due to SMA thromboembolism were divided into two groups: the AMI with TIN group and the AMI without TIN group. We analyzed the relationships of clinical characteristics, qualitative MDCT signs, and SMA thrombus density with TIN. The SMA thrombus density was measured on non-contrast MDCT. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to determine the risk factors for predicting TIN. The diagnostic performances of risk factors were evaluated by receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Results Of the patients with AMI enrolled in this study, 33.3% (11/33) were diagnosed with TIN. Peritonitis (P=0.042), bowel wall thinning (P=0.033), and pneumatosis/portomesenteric gas (P=0.010) were significantly associated with TIN. AMI patients with TIN exhibited a higher SMA thrombus density than AMI patients without TIN [41.2±6.1 vs. 34.2±3.0 Hounsfield unit (HU), P=0.003]. Multivariate analysis showed that SMA thrombus density was an independent predictor of TIN [P=0.044, hazard ratio (HR): 1.82, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.02-3.25]. For diagnosing AMI with TIN, the area under the ROC curve (AUC) of SMA thrombus density (0.83) was larger than those of peritonitis (0.68), bowel wall thinning (0.66), and pneumatosis/portomesenteric gas (0.71). Conclusions In patients with AMI, erythrocyte-rich thrombus blocking the SMA trunk which has a higher density on MDCT is prone to the occurrence of TIN compared with erythrocyte-scarce thrombus with a lower density. SMA thrombus density could be an independent risk factor for TIN in patients with AMI due to SMA thromboembolism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Tang
- Department of Radiology, Daping Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China.,Department of Radiology, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, China
| | - Jing Zhang
- Department of Radiology, Daping Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Lian-Qin Kuang
- Department of Radiology, Daping Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Kun-Ming Yi
- Department of Radiology, Daping Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Chun-Xue Li
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Daping Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Yi Wang
- Department of Radiology, Daping Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
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