CT SCAN OF BOWEL TRAUMA IN THE PEDIATRIC-PATIENT

In the CT evaluation of children with blunt abdominal trauma, bowel in jury may represent the most problematic condition that the radiologist encounters. Ln cases where there is a large, unexplained pneumoperito neum or extravasation of oral contrast, the diagnosis is straightforwa rd. Significant, potentially life-threatening injuries, however, may b e manifest only by focal. bowel wall thickening and peritoneal fluid a ccumulation. Meticulous attention to detail with regard to scanning, a dministration of contrast, and review of the images along with the rec ognition of patterns and sites of more common injuries fan improve the sensitivity of the radiologist in the detection of bowel trauma.