Clostridium difficile colitis: CT findings and differential diagnosis.

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is a severe and potentially deadly infectious colitis whose incidence is dramatically increasing in the last decades, with more virulent strains. CDI should be suspected in case of unexplained diarrhea and abdominal pain in patients with a recent history of antibiotic use and healthcare exposures; diagnosis is based on a combination of clinical and laboratory findings with demonstration of C. difficile toxins by stool test. The advantages of contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) are the noninvasiveness and the ability to evaluate both the colonic wall and the adjacent soft tissues. Considerable overlap exists between the CECT findings of CDI and those of colitis of other origins, such as typhlitis, ischemic colitis, graft-versus-host disease, radiation colitis and inflammatory bowel diseases; however, some features may help distinguish between these conditions. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the imaging features of Clostridium difficile colitis and its mimics, with a view to assist the radiologist in reaching the correct diagnosis.

Systemic Emergencies in COVID-19 Patient: A Pictorial Review.

Since the first report of the outbreak in Wuhan, China in December 2019, as of 1 September 2021, the World Health Organization has confirmed more than 239 million cases of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) infectious disease named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), with more than 4.5 million deaths. Although SARS-CoV-2 mainly involves the respiratory tract, it is considered to be a systemic disease. Imaging plays a pivotal role in the diagnosis of all manifestations of COVID-19 disease, as well as its related complications. The figure of the radiologist is fundamental in the management and treatment of the patient. The authors try to provide a systematic approach based on an imaging review of major multi-organ manifestations of this infection.

Relationship between diagnostic imaging features and prognostic outcomes in gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST).

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs), the most frequent mesenchymal neoplasms of the gastrointestinal tract, are a relatively recently described entity. GISTs can occur across any age but are more common in patients older than 50 years. GISTs most commonly are in the stomach (60-70%), followed by the small intestine (20%-30%); they also rarely occur in the abdominal cavity, such as in the mesentery, the omentum and the retroperitoneum. Contrast-enhanced multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) is the most largely used imaging modality for the localization, characterization and staging of GISTs. All patterns of enhancement on contrast-enhanced MDCT can be seen with GISTs, including hypoenhancing, isoenhancing, and hyperenhancing neoplasms. A lot of prognostication systems have been proposed for the risk stratification of GISTs. This review outlines the relationship between different diagnostic imaging features and prognostic outcomes in GISTs.