[CT of acute left-sided colonic diverticulitis and its differential diagnoses].
OBJECTIVE
This review shows the diagnostic potential of computed tomography (CT) in the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of acute left-sided colonic diverticulitis.


METHODS
Using a single detector spiral CT, standard examination of the entire abdomen is performed after oral and rectal administration of diluted iodinated contrast medium with collimation of 8 mm, pitch of 1.5, and reconstruction increment of 8 mm before and after intravenous contrast injection. Intravenous administration of spasmolytic agents, various patient positions, and the thin-section technique with 3-5 mm slices are beneficial in difficult cases.


RESULTS
The differential diagnosis of acute left-sided colonic diverticulitis includes tumorous, inflammatory, and ischemic diseases of the colon as well as infarctions of epiploic appendages and the omentum majus. The knowledge of the various CT criteria of acute colonic diverticulitis and their differential diagnoses helps to establish a correct diagnosis in a wide majority of cases.


CONCLUSIONS
At present, CT is the diagnostic procedure of choice for assessing acute diverticulitis. Distinct knowledge of the CT features helps to differentiate the various entities accurately.
Ferstl
F J
FJ
Radiologisch-Nuklearmedizinisches Zentrum am St. Theresien-Krankenhaus, Nürnberg. franz.ferstl@rpnl.de
Obert
R
R
Cordes
M
M
D000208:Acute Disease; D003092:Colitis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D003287:Contrast Media; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004239:Diverticulitis, Colonic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011856:Radiographic Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*
D003287:Contrast Media