Intestinal obstruction due to phytobezoar: A rare case in a 6-year-old Sudanese girl

We here report a rare case of a 6-year-old Sudanese girl diagnosed at laparotomy with phytobezoar (A phytobezoar is a type of bezoar, or trapped mass in the gastrointestinal system, that consists of components of indigestible plant material, such as fibers, skins and seeds) with good outcome.

Added value of iodine-specific imaging and virtual non-contrast imaging for gastrointestinal assessment using dual-energy computed tomography

Dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) has become increasingly available and can be readily incorporated into clinical practice. Although DECT can provide a wide variety of spectral imaging reconstructions, most clinically valuable information is available from a limited number of standard image reconstructions including virtual non-contrast and iodine overlay. The combination of these standard reconstructions can be used for specific diagnostic tasks that provide added value over traditional CT protocols. In this pictorial essay, the added value of these standard reconstructed images will be demonstrated by case examples for diseases specifically related to the gastrointestinal system.

Diagnostic performance of apparent diffusion coefficient values for the differentiation of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma from gastrointestinal adenocarcinoma liver metastases

Background We aimed to investigate whether there is a difference between intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (IHCC) and liver metastases of gastrointestinal system (GIS) adenocarcinoma in terms of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values. Patients and methods From January 2018 to January 2020, we retrospectively examined 64 consecutive patients with liver metastases due to gastrointestinal system adenocarcinomas and 13 consecutive IHCC in our hospital’s medical records. After exclusions, fifty-three patients with 53 liver metastases and 10 IHCC were included in our study. We divided the patients into two groups as IHCC and liver metastases of GIS adenocarcinoma. For mean apparent diffusion coefficient (ADCmean) values, the region of interests (ROI) was placed in solid portions of the lesions. ADCmean values of groups were compared. Results The mean age of IHCC group was 62.50 ± 13.49 and mean age of metastases group was 61.15 ± 9.18. ADCmean values were significantly higher in the IHCC group compared to the metastatic group (p < 0.001). ROC curves method showed high diagnostic accuracy (AUC = 0.879) with cut-off value of < 1178 x 10-6 mm2/s for ADCmean (Sensitivity = 90.57, Specificity = 70.0, positive predictive value [PPV] = 94.1, negative predictive value [NPV] = 58.3) in differentiating adenocarcinoma metastases from IHCC. Conclusions The present study results suggest that ADC values have a potential role for differentiation between IHCC and GIS adenocarcinoma liver metastases which may be valuable for patient management.