ROLE OF CT ENTEROGRAPHY IN EVALUATION OF SMALL BOWEL DISORDERS

Abstract

T he small bowel has always been considered a difficult structure for evaluation, because of its extensive length, presence of folds, its position in the digestive tract between the stomach and the large bowel, its tortuosity and over lapping loops. The diagnosis of small intestinal lesions is usually based on using different diagnostic procedures, including GIT enodoscopies, capsule enteroscopy and barium meal follow through, US, CT, and MRI. The most common small intestinal lesions include inflammation, neoplasms, malabsorption and vascular diseases Multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) has become a first-line imaging modality for the evaluation of small bowel. High speed and resolution of MDCT ensures excellent imaging of small bowel with simultaneous evaluation of bowel lumen and wall, adjoining mesentery, and extraluminal structures in the abdominal cavity. MDCTE differs from routine abdominopelvic CT in that it makes use of thin sections and large volumes of enteric contrast material to better display the small bowel lumen and wall. The use of water as neutral enteric contrast agents combined with intravenously administered contrast material permit excellent assessment of hypervascular lesions due to inflammation or neoplasms.