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. 2017 Jan-Feb;23(1):5-9.
doi: 10.5152/dir.2016.16002.

Stercoral colitis: diagnostic value of CT findings

Emre Ünal  1 , Mehmet Ruhi Onur, Sinan Balcı, Ayşegül Görmez, Erhan Akpınar, Medine Böge
Affiliations

Stercoral colitis: diagnostic value of CT findings

Emre Ünal et al. Diagn Interv Radiol. 2017 Jan-Feb.

Abstract

Purpose: We aimed to evaluate the CT findings of stercoral colitis (SC).

Methods: Forty-one patients diagnosed with SC between February 2006 and April 2015 were retrospectively reviewed.

Results: Rectosigmoid colon was the most frequently involved segment (100%, n=41). CT findings can be summarized as follows: dilatation >6 cm and wall thickening >3 mm of the affected colon segment (100%, n=41), pericolonic fat stranding (100%, n=41), mucosal discontinuity (14.6 %, n=6), presence of free air (14.6%, n=6), free fluid (9.7%, n=4), and pericolonic abscess (2.4%, n=1). The sign most related with mortality was the length of the affected colon segment >40 cm.

Conclusion: CT has an important role in SC, since life-threatening complications can be easily revealed by this imaging modality. Increased length of involved colon segment (>40 cm) is more likely to be associated with mortality.

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Conflict of interest statement

disclosure The authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
a–c. Fecal impaction and colon dilatation. Axial contrast-enhanced CT image (a) demonstrates dilatation of the rectum resulting from fecal impaction (asterisk). Perirectal inflammation manifests with perirectal fat stranding (arrowheads). Thickening of the rectum wall is also noted (arrow). Axial (b) and coronal (c) CT images demonstrate diffuse dilatation of colonic segments.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mucosal discontinuity and rectal ulcer in stercoral colitis. Axial contrast-enhanced CT of a 65-year-old female reveals mucosal discontinuity, free air (arrowhead), and perirectal stranding (arrow).
Figure 3
Figure 3
a, b. Extraluminal free air in stercoral colitis. A 79 year-old male presented with abdominal pain and shortness of breath with suspicion of accompanying mesenteric vascular compromise. Axial (a) and coronal (b) CT images show free air (arrows) secondary to perforation surrounding left posterolateral wall of the rectum.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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