Diagnosis of intra-abdominal and pelvic abscesses by computerized tomography
P. R. Koehler and A. A. Moss
Review of the medical records and x-ray films of 110 patients with the
diagnosis "rule out abscess" showed that computerized tomography (CT) was
able to correctly identify and localize a lesion in 78/79 patients. In five
patients an uninfected mass was found by CT. Of 32 patients in whom no
abscess was shown, only one had an abscess requiring drainage. Computerized
tomography was particularly helpful in the postoperative patients in whom
ultrasound examinations are difficult to perform. In many patients
aspiration or drainage procedures were done at the time of examination,
thus allowing us to reach immediately a final diagnosis. Based on this
experience, we concluded that CT is an accurate, fast, and cost-effective
examination for the diagnosis of abscesses.
