COMPUTED-TOMOGRAPHY OF THE RETROPERITONEUM IN PATIENTS WITH FEMORAL NEUROPATHY

The authors illustrate the value of computed tomography (CT) of the re troperitoneum in patients presenting with femoral nerve signs. They de scribe 28 such patients, examined at a tertiary-care hospital between June 1990 and January 1993, in whom Cr of the retroperitoneum contribu ted significantly to the diagnosis. The patients, 19 males and 9 femal es, ranged in age from 11 to 81 years. Cr showed disease of the psoas compartment in 17 cases; the condition was due to a malignant lesion i n 9 cases and was secondary to infection in 5 and to other causes in 3 . Disease of the iliacus compartment was shown in 11 cases; it was due to a malignant lesion in 6 cases and was secondary to hemorrhage in 2 , to infection in 1 and to a bursa in 1. The diagnostic features of th e diseases encountered are discussed, and the importance of performing CT early is stressed.