title: Cross-sectional imaging of nontraumatic emergencies of the spleen.
abstract: Multiple nontraumatic splenic emergencies are encountered during the imaging of patients in emergency room. Occasionally, patients are investigated for symptoms of suspected splenic pathology, such as abscess, infarct, symptomatic splenic artery aneurysm and pseudoaneurysm, splenic torsion, or rupture. More often, however, splenic emergencies, such as splenic masses and splenic vein thrombosis, are detected in patients in the emergency room during the evaluation of nonspecific abdominal pain. It is essential for radiologists to be vigilant in the identification of nontraumatic splenic emergencies and to be familiar with interventional radiology management options for these pathologies. Our aim is to highlight factors affecting lesion detection on multiple imaging modalities and to discuss the advantages of different cross-sectional modalities for the diagnosis of splenic abnormalities. Finally, we review the management options with emphasis on interventional radiology where applicable.
authors.affiliation: Division of Emergency/Trauma Radiology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Abdullah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alabousi
authors.affiliation: Division of Emergency/Trauma Radiology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Michael N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Patlas
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Pineta Grande Medical Center, Castel Volturno, Caserta, Italy.
authors.forename: Mariano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Scaglione
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Cardarelli Hospital, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Luigia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Romano
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Boston University, Boston, MA. Electronic address: patlas@hhsc.ca.
authors.forename: Jorge A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Soto
mesh_terms: D015746:Abdominal Pain / Q000209:etiology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004635:Emergency Medicine; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D015642:Radiology, Interventional; D013158:Splenic Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014218:Triage / Q000379:methods*