Differentiation of obstructive from non-obstructive small bowel dilatation on CT

• Published in: European journal of radiology 2000-09, Vol.35 (3), p.213-220
• Main Authors: Chou, Chung Kuao, Mak, Chee Wei, Huang, Min Ching, Tzeng, Wen Sheng, Chang, Jinn Ming
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abdomen, CT; Biological and medical sciences; CT, obstruction; Decision Trees; Diagnosis, Differential; Digestive system; Dilatation, Pathologic - diagnostic imaging; Female; Gastrointestinal tract, CT; Humans; Intestinal Diseases - diagnostic imaging; Intestinal Obstruction - diagnostic imaging; Intestine, Small - diagnostic imaging; Intestines, CT; Intestines, obstruction; Investigative techniques, diagnostic techniques (general aspects); Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Predictive Value of Tests; Radiodiagnosis. Nmr imagery. Nmr spectrometry; Retrospective Studies; Sensitivity and Specificity; Tomography, X-Ray Computed
• ISSN: 0720-048X; 1872-7727
• DOI: 10.1016/S0720-048X(00)00176-5

Purpose: to find a useful decision procedure for the differentiation of obstructive from non-obstructive small bowel (SB) dilatation on the computed tomography (CT). Materials and methods: four criteria were divided into different degrees and evaluated. These include: (A): continuity (non-continuous, continuous); (B): transition zone (absent, gradual, abrupt); (C): prestenotic SB fluid (minimal, about one-fourth, one-half, and three-fourths, nearly complete); and (D): colonic contents (minimal, moderate, considerable). One hundred fifty-three examinations, 86 obstructive and 67 non-obstructive, were analyzed using χ 2-square tests to determine the relationship of each criterion to the presence of small bowel obstruction (SBO), whether the proportions of various degrees of these criteria differed significantly among the obstructive and non-obstructive subgroups, and to classify the criteria with a tree-based model (calculated by the computer) for the development of a useful decision procedure. Results: in each of the four criteria, the trend of probability of obstruction was statistically significant ( P=0.0000). The proportions of most, except two, of the various degrees of different criteria in the obstructive and non-obstructive subgroups differed significantly ( P