title: CT findings in acute peritonitis: a pattern-based approach.
abstract: Many inflammatory and infectious entities may acutely affect the peritoneum causing a thickening of its layers. Unfortunately, several acute peritoneal diseases can have overlapping features, both clinically and at imaging. Therefore, the awareness of the clinical context, although useful, may be sometimes insufficient to identify the underlying cause. This article provides a specific computed tomography-based approach including morphologic characteristics of peritoneal thickening (e.g., smooth, irregular, or nodular) and ancillary findings to narrow the differential diagnosis of acute peritonitis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience and Imaging, G. d'Annunzio University, SS. Annunziata Hospital, Chieti, Italy. a.filippone@rad.unich.it.
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Filippone
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cianci
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Delli Pizzi
authors.forename: Gianluigi
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Esposito
authors.forename: Pierluigi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pulsone
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tavoletta
authors.forename: Mauro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Timpani
authors.forename: Antonio Raffaele
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Cotroneo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010538:Peritonitis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed