ROLE OF ULTRASONOGRAPHY, CONVENTIONAL ANGIOGRAPHY, CT AND CT ANGIOGRAPHY IN ASSESSMENT OF MESENTERIC ISCHAEMIA

Abstract

Reena Mathur1, Sourav Kumar Singh2, Avinash Gupta3, Madhumala4, Ravindra Repswal5, Prasanna R6, Shyojiram7, Divya Bagoria8

AIM The aim of the study was to evaluate efficacy, sensitivity, specificity of ultrasonography, conventional angiography, CT Angiography in mesenteric ischaemia. MATERIALS AND METHODS Prospective study was performed. 35 patients with clinically suspected mesenteric ischaemia were included in the study. The study was conducted from month of November 2013 to August 2015. The patients age ranged from 35 to 70 years (Mean age was 57±11.2 years). All cases met the criteria of acute nontraumatic or chronic abdominal pain and suspected mesenteric vascular ischaemia. All 35 cases were evaluated in surgery department, then underwent USG, conventional angiography, CTA. Out of 20 patients, 2 patients were inconclusive and 4 patients had other findings of abdominal pain. USG and CT angiographic findings were correlated with surgical findings in acute mesenteric ischaemia (AMI) cases & conventional angiography in chronic mesenteric ischaemia (CMI) cases. RESULT Ultrasonography has lower sensitivity and high specificity. Conventional angiography has moderate sensitivity and high specificity. CT angiography is highly sensitive and specific in detecting mesenteric ischaemia. CONCLUSION Conventional angiography is considered as the gold standard test for patients with acute and chronic mesenteric ischaemia except for hemodynamically unstable patients with acute mesenteric ischaemia. CTA is an emerging diagnostic test with high sensitivity and specificity in the setting of both acute and chronic mesenteric ischaemia and should be considered the first-line imaging test. CT can also accurately assess for other causes of acute and chronic abdominal pain, and it provides excellent anatomic mapping of the mesenteric vasculature, which is essential in the preoperative planning. US of the abdomen with Doppler waveform analysis can depict proximal mesenteric thrombosis and secondary signs of bowel compromise, but it is limited in the diagnosis of distal occlusions/stenosis and nonocclusive mesenteric ischaemia and therefore is not recommended as the initial examination in evaluating patients with suspected acute mesenteric ischaemia.

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