Non-traumatic acute bowel disease: differential diagnosis with 64-row MDCT

To evaluate the role of 64-row multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) in the differential diagnosis of non-traumatic acute bowel disease. We retrospectively reviewed CT findings of 57 patients (29 men and 28 women; mean age, 65.5 years, range 19–99) who presented to our institutions with symptoms of acute abdomen. All patients underwent MDCT. MDCT diagnosis was compared with surgical findings and histological examinations. A total concordance between the MDCT findings and discharge diagnosis (based on surgical findings and histological examinations) was found in 47/57 cases (82.4%); partial discordance was seen in 10 of 57 cases (17.5%) and discordance in 0 of 57 (0%) cases. The overall sensitivity of MDCT was 82.4%. MDCT is a very reliable method in the diagnostic management of non-traumatic acute bowel diseases allowing a fast and precise differential diagnosis and therefore a timely treatment.