Intestinal obstruction caused by caecal volvulus

Is laparotomy the unavoidable step to diagnose caecal volvulus?

Caecal volvulus is the axial twist of the caecum, ascending colon and terminal ileum around the mesenteric pedicle. This infrequently encountered clinical entity is responsible for 1-1.5% of all intestinal obstruction with a mortality of 10-40% depending on the presence of colon viability or intestinal gangrene. Many factors have been referred as correlated to caecal volvulus development, mainly anatomical predisposition and previous abdominal operations. Pre-operative diagnosis plays an important role in the management of such patients. Unfortunately, clinical signs, symptoms and laboratory tests are never specific enough to lead to a prompt diagnosis. Abdominal radiography and computed tomography may allow a diagnosis if typical signs are present. However, up to 30% of patients do not show these radiographic peculiarities, making the diagnosis difficult or impossible. Moreover, the low incidence of this disease is often responsible of a wrong or imprecise diagnosis, especially for radiologists who work with low volume of patients. We report a case of a patient with caecal volvulus, in which laparotomy was unavoidable to reach a diagnosis.

Cecal volvulus in pregnancy: report of a case and review of the safety and utility of medical diagnostic imaging in the assessment of the acute abdomen during pregnancy

We report a case of a 38-year-old woman who presents at 31 weeks of gestation with acute abdominal pain. Computed tomography (CT) scan of the abdomen and pelvis showed a cecal volvulus. Emergency cesarean section was performed for fetal distress. Laparotomy confirmed the CT findings and a right hemicolectomy was performed. While not advocating overutilization, this case demonstrates that helical CT can be, in the correct clinical scenario, an acceptable, useful, and relatively noninvasive test in the accurate assessment of the acute abdomen in pregnancy. We review the safety and utility of medical diagnostic imaging in the assessment of the acute abdomen in pregnancy.