State-of-the-art surgery for sigmoid diverticulitis.

BACKGROUND: In the last two decades, there has been a Copernican revolution in the decision-making for the treatment of Diverticular Disease. PURPOSE: This article provides a report on the state-of-the-art of surgery for sigmoid diverticulitis. CONCLUSION: Acute diverticulitis is the most common reason for colonic resection after cancer; in the last decade, the indication for surgical resection has become more and more infrequent also in emergency. Currently, emergency surgery is seldom indicated, mostly for severe abdominal infective complications. Nowadays, uncomplicated diverticulitis is the most frequent presentation of diverticular disease and it is usually approached with a conservative medical treatment. Non-Operative Management may be considered also for complicated diverticulitis with abdominal abscess. At present, there is consensus among experts that the hemodynamic response to the initial fluid resuscitation should guide the emergency surgical approach to patients with severe sepsis or septic shock. In hemodynamically stable patients, a laparoscopic approach is the first choice, and surgeons with advanced laparoscopic skills report advantages in terms of lower postoperative complication rates. At the moment, the so-called Hartmann's procedure is only indicated in severe generalized peritonitis with metabolic derangement or in severely ill patients. Some authors suggested laparoscopic peritoneal lavage as a bridge to surgery or also as a definitive treatment without colonic resection in selected patients. In case of hemodynamic instability not responding to fluid resuscitation, an initial damage control surgery seems to be more attractive than a Hartmann's procedure, and it is associated with a high rate of primary anastomosis.

The role of damage control surgery in the treatment of perforated colonic diverticulitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Damage control surgery (DCS) is the classic approach to manage severe trauma and has recently also been considered an appropriate approach to the treatment of critically ill patients with severe intra-abdominal sepsis. The purpose of the present review is to evaluate the outcomes following DCS for Hinchey II-IV complicated acute diverticulitis (CAD). METHODS: A comprehensive systematic search was undertaken to identify all randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and observational studies, irrespectively of their size, publication status, and language. Adults who have undergone DCS for CAD Hinchey II, III, or IV were included in this review. DCS is compared with the immediate and definitive surgical treatment in the form of HP, colonic resection, and primary anastomosis (RPA) with or without covering stoma or laparoscopic lavage. We searched the following electronic databases: PubMed MEDLINE, Scopus, and ISI Web of Knowledge. The protocol of this systematic review and meta-analysis was published on Prospero (CRD42020144953). RESULTS: Nine studies with 318 patients, undergoing DCS, were included. The presence of septic shock at the presentation in the emergency department was heterogeneous, and the weighted mean rate of septic shock across the studies was shown to be 35.1% [95% CI 8.4 to 78.6%]. The majority of the patients had Hinchey III (68.3%) disease. The remainder had either Hinchey IV (28.9%) or Hinchey II (2.8%). Phase I is similarly described in most of the studies as lavage, limited resection with closed blind colonic ends. In a few studies, resection and anastomosis (9.1%) or suture of the perforation site (0.9%) were performed in phase I of DCS. In those patients who underwent DCS, the most common method of temporary abdominal closure (TAC) was the negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) (97.8%). The RPA was performed in 62.1% [95% CI 40.8 to 83.3%] and the 22.7% [95% CI 15.1 to 30.3%]: 12.8% during phase I and 87.2% during phase III. A covering ileostomy was performed in 6.9% [95% CI 1.5 to 12.2%]. In patients with RPA, the overall leak was 7.3% [95% CI 4.3 to 10.4%] and the major anastomotic leaks were 4.7% [95% CI 2.0 to 7.4%]; the rate of postoperative mortality was estimated to be 9.2% [95% CI 6.0 to 12.4%]. CONCLUSIONS: The present meta-analysis revealed an approximately 62.1% weighted rate of achieving GI continuity with the DCS approach to generalized peritonitis in Hinchey III and IV with major leaks of 4.7% and overall mortality of 9.2%. Despite the promising results, we are aware of the limitations related to the significant heterogeneity of inclusion criteria. Importantly, the low rate of reported septic shock may point toward selection bias. Further studies are needed to evaluate the clinical advantages and cost-effectiveness of the DCS approach.

The Management of Acute Colonic Diverticulitis in the COVID-19 Era: A Scoping Review.

Background and Objective: During the COVID-19 pandemic, health systems worldwide made major changes to their organization, delaying diagnosis and treatment across a broad spectrum of pathologies. Concerning surgery, there was an evident reduction in all elective and emergency activities, particularly for benign pathologies such as acute diverticulitis, for which we have identified a reduction in emergency room presentation with mild forms and an increase with more severe forms. The aim of our review was to discover new data on emergency presentation for patients with acute diverticulitis during the Covid-19 pandemic and their current management, and to define a better methodology for surgical decision-making. Method: We conducted a scoping review on 25 trials, analyzing five points: reduced hospital access for patients with diverticulitis, the preferred treatment for non-complicated diverticulitis, the role of CT scanning in primary evaluation and percutaneous drainage as a treatment, and changes in surgical decision-making and preferred treatment strategies for complicated diverticulitis. Results: We found a decrease in emergency access for patients with diverticular disease, with an increased incidence of complicated diverticulitis. The preferred treatment was conservative for non-complicated forms and in patients with COVID-related pneumonia, percutaneous drainage for abscess, or with surgery delayed or reserved for diffuse peritonitis or sepsis. Conclusion: During the COVID-19 pandemic we observed an increased number of complicated forms of diverticulitis, while the total number decreased, possibly due to delay in hospital or ambulatory presentation because of the fear of contracting COVID-19. We observed a greater tendency to treat these more severe forms by conservative means or drainage. When surgery was necessary, there was a preference for an open approach or a delayed operation.

Primary Anastomosis for Perforated Diverticulitis with Peritonitis: Post-hoc Pooled Analysis of Prospective Randomized Trials.

BACKGROUND: The impact of specific interventions at resection with primary anastomosis (PRA) for perforated diverticulitis with peritonitis is controversial. The aim of this pooled analysis was to determine whether any specific interventions performed at resection with primary anastomosis in patients with perforated diverticulitis with peritonitis influenced the outcomes.

The Trends of Complicated Acute Colonic Diverticulitis-A Systematic Review of the National Administrative Databases.

Background and Objectives: The diverticular disease includes a broad spectrum of different "clinical situations" from diverticulosis to acute diverticulitis (AD), with a full spectrum of severity ranging from self-limiting infection to abscess or fistula formation to free perforation. The present work aimed to assess the burden of complicated diverticulitis through a comparative analysis of the hospitalizations based on the national administrative databases. Materials and Methods: A review of the international and national administrative databases concerning admissions for complicated AD was performed. Results: Ten studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the analysis. No definition of acute complicated diverticulitis was reported in any study. Complicated AD accounted for approximately 42% and 79% of the hospitalizations. The reported rates of abscess varied between 1% and 10% from all admissions for AD and 5-29% of the cases with complicated AD. An increasing temporal trend was found in one study-from 6% to 10%. The rates of diffuse peritonitis ranged from 1.6% to 10.2% of all hospitalizations and 11% and 47% of the complicated cases and were stable in the time. Conclusions: The available data precluded definitive conclusions because of the significant discrepancy between the included studies. The leading cause was the presence of heterogeneity due to coding inaccuracies in all databases, absence of ICD codes to distinguish the different type of complications, and the lack of coding data about some general conditions such as sepsis, shock, malnutrition, steroid therapy, diabetes, pulmonary, and heart failure.

"To stent or not to stent?": immediate emergency surgery with laparoscopic radical colectomy with CME and primary anastomosis is feasible for obstructing left colon carcinoma.

Great debate exists in the initial acute management of large bowel obstruction from obstructing left colon carcinoma. While endoscopic stenting is well established as the first approach in the setting of palliative care of patients with advanced metastatic disease as well as a bridge to elective surgery in elderly patients who have an increased risk of postoperative mortality (age >70 years and/or ASA status ≥3), controversies exist regarding oncological safety and long-term outcomes of endoscopic colonic stenting in younger patients and ESGE Guidelines do not recommend SEMS placement in patients <70 and fit for curative surgery. Particularly, the Consensus Panelists currently state that SEMS placement as a bridge to surgery is not recommended as the standard treatment because (1) it does not reduce the postoperative mortality in the general population, (2) SEMS may be associated with an increased risk of tumor recurrence, and (3) acute resection is feasible in young and fit patients, with an acceptable postoperative mortality rate. A 32-year-old lady was admitted with complete LBO from obstructing sigmoid carcinoma. Initial i.v. CE-CT scan detected a large bowel partial obstruction with fecal impaction in the entire colon until sigmoid with some mildly dilated SB loops. The presence of a thickened area in the colonic wall could not be assessed because the patient was young and thin and in such patients the CT appearance of bowel wall cannot be clearly appreciated. She was initially managed with laxatives and gastrografin. The patient's obstruction did not improve and abdominal distension worsened with nausea and colicky pain. Urgent endoscopy detected a friable mass, consistent with completely obstructing carcinoma of the mid sigmoid. Biopsies were taken and distal ink marking was made. Whole-body urgent CT scan with i.v. contrast was performed in order to obtain full preoperative staging and to rule out distant metastases. CT scan and the previously given oral gastrografin confirmed complete large bowel obstruction with a tight stricture in the sigmoid. Cecum was markedly distended.

Perforated sigmoid diverticulitis: Hartmann's procedure or resection with primary anastomosis-a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised control trials.

INTRODUCTION: The surgical management of perforated sigmoid diverticulitis and generalised peritonitis is challenging. Surgical resection is the established standard of care. However, there is debate as to whether a primary anastomosis (PA) or a Hartmann's procedure (HP) should be performed. The aim of the present study was to perform a review of the literature comparing HP to PA for the treatment of perforated sigmoid diverticulitis with generalised peritonitis. METHODS: A systematic literature search was performed for articles published up to March 2018. We considered only randomised control trials (RCTs) comparing the outcomes of sigmoidectomy with PA versus HP in adults with perforated sigmoid diverticulitis and generalised peritonitis (Hinchey III or IV). Primary outcomes were mortality and permanent stoma rate. Outcomes were pooled using a random-effects model to estimate the risk ratio and 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: Of the 1,204 potentially relevant articles, 3 RCTs were included in the meta-analysis with 254 patients in total (116 and 138 in the PA and HP groups, respectively). All three RCTs had significant limitations including small size, lack of blinding and possible selection bias. There was no statistically significant difference in mortality or overall morbidity. Although 2 out of the 3 trials reported a lower permanent stoma rate in the PA arm, the difference in permanent stoma rates was not statistically significant (RR = 0.40, 95% CI 0.14-1.16). The incidence of anastomotic leaks, including leaks after stoma reversal, was not statistically different between PA and HP (RR = 1.42, 95% CI 0.41-4.87, p = 0.58) while risk of a postoperative intra-abdominal abscess was lower after PA than after HP (RR = 0.34, 95% CI 0.12-0.96, p = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: PA and HP appear to be equivalent in terms of most outcomes of interest, except for a lower intra-abdominal abscess risk after PA. The latter finding needs further investigation as it was not reported in any of the individual trials. However, given the limitations of the included RCTs, no firm conclusion can be drawn on which is the best surgical option in patients with generalised peritonitis due to diverticular perforation.

Trends in hospital admission for acute diverticulitis in Italy from 2008 to 2015.

BACKGROUND: Epidemiological studies in Western countries have documented an increase of hospitalizations for acute diverticulitis (AD) but Italian evidence is scarce. The aim of the present study was to analyse the trend in hospitalization for AD, including in-hospital mortality, in Italy from 2008 to 2015. METHODS: Through the Italian Hospital Information System of the National Health System, we identified diverticulitis of the colon as a discharge diagnosis. Age- and gender-specific rates of hospitalization for AD were assessed. RESULTS: 174,436 hospitalizations were identified with an increasing rate in 2008-2015 from 39 to 48 per 100,000 inhabitants (p < 0.001). The rate of hospitalization was higher for women, but the increasing trend over time was even more pronounced among men (mean increase per year 3.9% and 2.1% among men and women, respectively) (p < 0.001). The increased rate of hospitalization was accounted for by patients less than 70 years old, especially those under 60. In contrast, the hospitalization rate for older patients (age ≥ 70 years) was higher but remained unchanged during the study period. The number of patients with one hospital admissions was significantly higher than the number of patients with at least two hospitalizations (p < 0.001) and both groups showed a significant and comparable increase year by year. The overall in-hospital mortality rate increased from 1.2 to 1.5% (p = 0.017). More specifically, the increase was observed in patients at their first hospitalization [from 1 to 1.4% (mean increase per year of 3%, p = 0.003)]. An increase in mortality was most evident among women (from 1.4 to 1.8% p = 0.025) and in older patients [age 70-79 years from 1.2 to 1.7% (p = 0.034), ≥ 80 years from 2.9 to 4% (p = 0.001)]. CONCLUSIONS: In Italy, between 2008 and 2015, the rate of hospitalization for AD has been constantly increasing due to the hospitalization of younger individuals, especially men. There was a significant increase of in-hospital mortality especially among women, elderly and during the first hospitalization. These findings suggest the need for increased awareness and clinical skills in the management of this common condition.

IPOD Study: Management of Acute Left Colonic Diverticulitis in Italian Surgical Departments.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, the emergency management of acute left colonic diverticulitis (ALCD) has evolved dramatically despite lack of strong evidence. As a consequence, management strategies are frequently guided by surgeon's personal preference, rather than by scientific evidence. The primary aim of IPOD study (Italian Prospective Observational Diverticulitis study) is to describe both the diagnostic and treatment profiles of patients with ALCD in the Italian surgical departments. METHODS: IPOD study is a prospective observational study performed during a 6-month period (from April 1 2015 to September 1 2015) and including 89 Italian surgical departments. All consecutive patients with suspected clinical diagnosis of ALCD confirmed by imaging and seen by a surgeon were included in the study. The study was promoted by the Italian Society of Hospital Surgeons and the World Society of Emergency Surgery Italian chapter. RESULTS: Eleven hundred and twenty-five patients with a median age of 62 years [interquartile range (IQR), 51-74] were enrolled in the IPOD study. One thousand and fifty-four (93.7%) patients were hospitalized with a median duration of hospitalization of 7 days (IQR 5-10). Eight hundred and twenty-eight patients (73.6%) underwent medical treatment alone, 13 patients had percutaneous drainage (1.2%), and the other 284 (25.2%) patients underwent surgery as first treatment. Among 121 patients having diffuse peritonitis, 71 (58.7%) underwent Hartmann's resection. However, the Hartmann's resection was used even in patients with lower stages of ALCD (36/479; 7.5%) where other treatment options could be more adequate. CONCLUSIONS: The IPOD study demonstrates that in the Italian surgical departments treatment strategies for ALCD are often guided by the surgeon's personal preference.

Guidelines for the Treatment of Abdominal Abscesses in Acute Diverticulitis: An Umbrella Review.

BACKGROUND: This systematic umbrella review aims to investigate and provide an analysis of guidelines regarding the treatment of diverticular abscesses. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A systematic literature search was performed using the Cochrane Overviews of Reviews model and the 'Clinical Practice Guidelines'; at the end of initial search, only 12 guidelines were included in this analysis. The quality of the guidelines was assessed by adopting the "Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation II" (AGREE II). The comparative analysis of these guidelines has highlighted the presence of some differences regarding the recommendations on the treatment of diverticular abscesses. In particular, there are some controversies about the diameter of abscess to be used in order to decide between medical treatment and percutaneous drainage. Different guidelines propose different abscess diameter cutoffs, such as 3 cm, 4-5 cm, or 4 cm, for distinguishing between small and large abscesses. CONCLUSIONS: Currently, different scientific societies recommend that diverticular abscesses with diameters larger than 3 cm should be considered for percutaneous drainage whereas abscesses with diameters smaller than 3 cm could be appropriately treated by medical therapy with antibiotics; only a few guidelines suggest the use of percutaneous drainage for abscesses with a diameter greater than 4 cm. The differences among guidelines are the consequence of the different selection of scientific evidence. In conclusion, our evaluation has revealed the importance of seeking new scientific evidence with higher quality to either confirm, reinforce or potentially weaken the existing recommendations from different societies.

Clinical presentation and risks.

BACKGROUND: A recurrent episode of diverticulitis is a new distinct episode of acute inflammation after a period of complete remission of symptoms. Outdated literature suggested a high recurrence rate (>40%) and a worse clinical presentation with less chance of conservative treatment. More recent studies showed a more benign course with no need toward an aggressive policy of treatment. METHODS: We report data from revised literature and from our study: a 4-year multicenter retrospective and prospective database analysis of 743 patients hospitalized for acute diverticulitis (AD) treated medically or surgically and then followed for a minimum of 9 years. RESULTS: The literature showed a recurrence rate of 25-35% at 5 years of follow-up, with a reduced risk of severe complications (i.e. perforations), a risk of subsequent emergency surgery of 2-14% and a risk of stoma and related death of 0-2.7%. Several risk factors of recurrence have been advocated: family history, abscess, severe CT stage, comorbidities (renal failure, collagen vascular disease) and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Young age is still a matter of debate. These studies have different limitations: retrospective, lack of definition of AD, small number of patients, long recruiting time, short follow-up, study population or hospital-system based. In our study of 320 followed-up, medically treated patients, 61% were asymptomatic and 22% complained of chronic symptoms: the 12-year actuarial risk of recurrence, emergency surgery, stoma and death was 21.2, 8.3, 1 and 0%, respectively. Recurrence was related to very young age (<40 years) and more than 3 previous episodes of AD. CONCLUSION: This study confirms the benign course of diverticulitis treated conservatively, with a low long-term risk of serious complications and death, and does not support an aggressive surgical policy to prevent them.

Hot Topics in Surgical Management of Acute Diverticulitiss.

In this session different issues for the surgical management of diverticular disease DD) were considered. The first session debated about the antibiotic treatment for acute uncomplicated diverticulitis (AUD), and supports their use selectively rather than routinely in patients with AUD. The second session discussed the best surgical treatment for those patients. Open approach is a valid choice especially in acute setting, while the laparoscopic approach should be individualised according to the level of skills of the surgeon and the risk factors of the patient (such as obesity and state of health at the time of the operation). The third session debated about the peritoneal lavage and drainage, which is still a safe surgical procedure. However, it requires longer follow-up and results of other trials to draw an adequate conclusion. The last session covers the current surgical certainties in managing complicated DD: 1. urgent colectomy has higher mortality in immune-compromised patients, while in elective surgery is comparable with other populations; 2. laparoscopic peritoneal lavage (LPL) should be the choice in young/fit patients; 3. elective resection is safer in an inflammation free interval; 4. laparoscopic resection shows advantages in several outcomes (such as post-operative morbidity and lower stoma and re-operation rate); 5. in Hinchey III/fecal peritonitis, primary sigmoid resection and anastomosis (open or laparoscopic) could be proposed in young/ fit patient; 6. in case of emergency surgery, Hartmann procedure (open or laparoscopic) must be considered in critically ill/unstable patient.

International Consensus on Diverticulosis and Diverticular Disease. Statements from the 3rd International Symposium on Diverticular Disease.

The statements produced by the Chairmen and Speakers of the 3rd International Symposium on Diverticular Disease, held in Madrid on April 11th-13th 2019, are reported. Topics such as current and evolving concepts on the pathogenesis, the course of the disease, the news in diagnosing, hot topics in medical and surgical treatments, and finally, critical issues on the disease were reviewed by the Chairmen who proposed 39 statements graded according to level of evidence and strength of recommendation. Each topic was explored focusing on the more relevant clinical questions. The vote was conducted on a 6-point scale and consensus was defined a priori as 67% agreement of the participants. The voting group consisted of 124 physicians from 18 countries, and agreement with all statements was provided. Comments were added explaining some controversial areas.

The DICA Endoscopic Classification for Diverticular Disease of the Colon Shows a Significant Interobserver Agreement among Community Endoscopists: an International Study.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The Diverticular Inflammation and Complication Assessment (DICA) endoscopic classification of diverticulosis and diverticular disease (DD) is currently available. It scores severity of the disease as DICA 1, DICA 2 and DICA 3. Our aim was to assess the agreement on this classification in an international endoscopists community setting. METHODS: A total of 96 doctors (82.9% endoscopists) independently scored a set of DD endoscopic videos. The percentages of overall agreement on DICA score and a free-marginal multirater kappa (κ) coefficient were reported as statistical measures of interrater agreement. RESULTS: Overall agreement in using DICA was 91.8% with a free-marginal kappa of 88% (95% CI 80-95). The overall agreement levels were: DICA 1, 85.2%; DICA 2, 96.5%; DICA 3, 99.5%. The free marginal κ was: DICA 1 = 0.753, DICA 2 = 0.958, DICA 3 = 0.919. The agreement about the main endoscopic items was 83.4% (k 67%) for diverticular extension, 62.6% (k 65%) for number of diverticula for each district, 86.8% (k 82%) for presence of inflammation, and 98.5 (k 98%) for presence of complications. CONCLUSIONS: The overall interrater agreement in this study ranges from good to very good. DICA score is a simple and reproducible endoscopic scoring system for diverticulosis and DD.

Increasing trend in admission rates and costs for acute diverticulitis during 2005-2015: real-life data from the Abruzzo Region.

BACKGROUND: Scarce data are available on the epidemiological trend of diverticulitis and its financial burden in Italy. The aim of this work was to explore a potential variation in the rate and costs of hospital admissions for uncomplicated and complicated diverticulitis over the last decade. METHODS: We selected all hospitalizations for diverticulitis of residents in the Abruzzo Region, Italy between 2005 and 2015. Age-standardized hospitalization rates (HRs) per 100,000 inhabitants for overall, uncomplicated and complicated diverticulitis were calculated. A linear model on the log of the age-standardized rates was used to calculate annual percentage changes (APC). Costs were derived from the official DRG tariff. RESULTS: From 2005 to 2015, the HR for acute diverticulitis increased from 38.9 to 45.2 per 100,000 inhabitants (APC + 1.9%). The HR for complicated diverticulitis increased from 5.9 to 13.3 (APC + 7.6%), whereas it remained stable for uncomplicated diverticulitis. The mean hospital cost was 1.8-times higher for complicated diverticulitis compared with that for uncomplicated disease and 3.5-times higher for patients with a surgery stay compared with that for patients with a medical stay. CONCLUSION: During the last decade, in the Abruzzo Region, the HRs for diverticulitis and their costs increased significantly, mainly due to disease complications. Further studies are needed to explore strategies to prevent complications and to realise cost-saving policies.

A historical review of surgery for peritonitis secondary to acute colonic diverticulitis: from Lockhart-Mummery to evidence-based medicine.

The management of patients with colonic diverticular perforation is still evolving. Initial lavage with or without simple suture and drainage was suggested in the late 19th century, replaced progressively by the three-stage Mayo Clinic or the two-stage Mickulicz procedures. Fears of inadequate source control prompted the implementation of the resection of the affected segment of colon with formation of a colostomy (Hartman procedure) in the 1970's. Ensuing development of the treatment strategies was driven by the recognition of the high morbidity and mortality and low reversal rates associated with the Hartman procedure. This led to the wider use of resection and primary anastomosis during the 1990's. The technique of lavage and drainage regained popularity during the 1990's. This procedure can also be performed laparoscopically with the advantage of faster recovery and shorter hospital stay. This strategy allows resectional surgery to be postponed or avoided altogether in many patients; and higher rates of primary resection and anastomosis can be achieved avoiding the need for a stoma. The three recent randomized controlled trials comparing laparoscopic peritoneal lavage alone to resectional surgery reported inconsistent outcomes. The aim of this review is to review the historical evolution and future reflections of surgical treatment modalities for diffuse purulent and feculent peritonitis. In this review we classified the various surgical strategies according to Krukowski et al. and Vermeulen et al. and reviewed the literature related to surgical treatment separately for each period.

Comparison of computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging in the discrimination of intraperitoneal and extraperitoneal rectal cancer: initial experience.

OBJECTIVES: To compare computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in evaluation of intraperitoneal/extraperitoneal location of rectal cancers. METHODS AND MATERIALS: We assessed the identification of the anterior peritoneal reflection (APR) and the distance from the inferior edge of tumors to the anal verge and from the APR to the anal verge. RESULTS: Distances obtained with CT and MRI showed a strong correlation [Spearman's coefficient of rank correlation (rho): 0.995; P<.0001]. Magnetic resonance showed sensitivity of 100% (95% CI: 89.62-100.00%), specificity of 75% (95% CI: 20.34-95.88%), positive predictive value (PPV) of 97.14% (95% CI: 85.03-99.52%), and negative predictive value (NPV) of 100% (95% CI: 30.48-100.00%). CT showed a sensitivity of 100% (95% CI: 89.32-100.00%), specificity of 60% (95% CI: 15.40-93.51%), PPV of 94.29% (95% CI: 80.81-99.13%), and NPV of 100% (95% CI: 30.48-100.00%). CONCLUSIONS: CT demonstrated a potential supporting role in the evaluation of rectal cancer, showing a strong correlation with MRI.