How has MDCT changed small bowel evaluation?
- MDCT with coronal and sagittal MPRs can image the entire abdomen in a single breath-hold acquisition, facilitating small bowel evaluation.
- Ideal small bowel imaging requires intraluminal and intravenous (IV) contrast and bowel distention to best evaluate the mucosa, bowel wall, and surrounding structures, including adjacent fat.
- Neutral contrast agent use, such as dilute 0.1% barium sulfate mixed with sorbitol (VoLumen), allows better depiction of the bowel wall and mucosa compared to positive contrast agents such as meglumine diatrizoate (Gastrografin).
- If the intraluminal contrast is administered orally, the procedure is termed CT enterography, but if the intraluminal contrast is administered via a nasojejunal tube, the procedure is termed CT enteroclysis.