title: Etiology of small bowel thickening on computed tomography.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Abdominal pain is often evaluated using imaging, most often with computed tomography (CT). While CT is sensitive and specific for certain diagnoses, small bowel thickening is a nonspecific finding on CT with a broad differential diagnosis including infection, inflammation, ischemia and neoplasm.
  
  
  METHODS
  A review of medical records of patients who underwent CT scans of the abdomen and pelvis over a one-year period and exhibited small bowel thickening were retrospectively evaluated to determine the final diagnosis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The etiologies of small bowel thickening on CT were as follows: infection (113 of 446 [25.34%]); reactive inflammation (69 of 446 [15.47%]); primary inflammation (62 of 446 [13.90%]); small bowel obstruction (38 of 446 [8.52%]); iatrogenic (33 of 446 [7.40%]); neoplastic (32 of 446 [7.17%]); ascites (30 of 446 [6.73%]); unknown (28 of 446 [6.28%]); ischemic (24 of 446 [5.38%]); and miscellaneous (17 of 446 [3.81%]).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Infectious and inflammatory (primary or reactive) conditions were the most common cause of small bowel thickening in the present series; these data can be used to formulate a more specific differential diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Lee
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Finkelstone
authors.forename: Ellen L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Wolf
authors.forename: Marjorie Werner
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Stein
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004386:Duodenum / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007415:Intestinal Obstruction / Q000175:diagnosis*; D007421:Intestine, Small / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology*; D007583:Jejunum / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D055815:Young Adult