title: Abdominal compartment syndrome in children: CT findings.
abstract: Abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS) is caused by pathological elevation of intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) leading to multiple organ dysfunction syndrome. Since the condition is highly lethal, early diagnosis is imperative. We evaluated the pre-operative abdominal CT scans of three children with proven ACS to identify signs of elevated IAP. Findings common to these patients included narrowing of the inferior vena cava (IVC), direct renal compression or displacement, bowel wall thickening with enhancement and a rounded appearance of the abdomen. The aim of recognising the CT findings in such cases is to plan emergency surgical decompression. Although these findings are not specific for increased IAP, radiologists should be aware of this life-threatening condition and, in the proper clinical setting, should communicate the presence and significance of these findings to the referring clinician.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Rambam Medical Centre and the Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Bat-Galim, Haifa 31096, Israel. monica_epelman@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Epelman
authors.forename: Michal
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Soudack
authors.forename: Ahuva
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Engel
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Halberthal
authors.forename: Raphael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Beck
mesh_terms: D000005:Abdomen; D002669:Child Welfare; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003161:Compartment Syndromes / Q000175:diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007229:Infant Welfare; D008297:Male; D011860:Radiography, Abdominal; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed