GI Imaging Flashcards
What are the advanatages of abdominal xrays?
5
- Plain abdominal x-rays are readily available
- Often used for urgent investigation
- Does show gas in abnormal places or abnormal amounts
- Can show stones and metallic foreign bodies well
—Kidney and gall bladder stones
- Solid organs can be seen but not well
What kind of xrays may you need for abdominal views?
2
What do you get better imaging with?
2
May need upright and lateral decubitus films as well as flat plates
Better imaging with CT or ultrasound
Abdominal xray
Indications 5
Not indicated for 3
Indications
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- Suspected bowel obstruction/Perforation
- Suspected intussusception
- Foreign bodies
- Suspected abdominal mass
- Blunt abdominal trauma
Not indicated
- Vague central abdominal pain
- Gastroenteritis
- Haematemesis
Interpretation
Determine ownership, adequacy, and technical quality of the film
THEN?
3
- Gases
- Abdominal findings
- Solid organs (liver, kidneys, spleen, psoas muscles, bladder)
What are we looking for with gases in general?
Normal and abnormal gas distribution
What are we looking for with gas in the small bowel?
(normal findings 4)
- Intraluminal gas usually minimal
- Centrally located
- Numerous tight loops of small diameter (2.5-3.5cm)
- Valvulae conniventes (Stack of coins)
What are we looking for with gases in the large bowel?
(normal findings 3)
- Mixture of gas and feces
- Loops are larger in diameter (3-5cm)
- Haustra
What are abnormal findings in gas patterns?
5
- Dilated loops
- Air-fluid levels on erect film
- Intramural gas
- Intraperitoneal gas
- Extraperitoneal gas
- What is the large area in the RUQ of the xray?
- Its bulk prevents what in this area?
- liver
- any bowel occupying this area
What is the soft tissue in the LUQ, size of a fist?
spleen
Can be seen, obscured, or not at all
Kidney shape?
Which is higher than the other?
What size?
Bean shaped
Left higher than right
About 3 vertebrae in size
Explain where you will find the psoas muscles on the xray?
Forms straight lines extending inferolaterally from lumbar spine to lesser trochanter of femur
Bladder appears how on the xray?
If full appears as soft tissue density in pelvis
Normal Gas Pattern
See picture
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What is these xrays showing?
What symtpoms does he have from this pathology? 3
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SMALL BOWEL OBSTRUCTION
TWO PATIENTS WITH
- ABDOMINAL DISTENSION,
- CRAMPY MID-ABDOMINAL PAIN
- VOMITING
What are these two xrays showing?
What symptoms come with this pathology? 3
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LARGE BOWEL OBSTRUCTION
TWO PATIENTS WITH
- ABDOMINAL DISTENSION.
- LOWER ABDOMINAL PAIN, AND
- CONSTIPATION
What are these two xrays showing?
Often occurs when?
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Ileus
After surgery
What are these xrays showing?
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Constipation (full of stuff/stool)
What are these xrays showing
1?
2?
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- Calcified gallbladder
- Kidney stones
Abdominal organs
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Find the Foreign Body!
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- Upper GI series aka?
- Uses what tools?
- What are the two types?
- What does it look at? 3
- Also called a barium swallow
- Uses plain film x-ray and fluoroscopy
- 2 types
- Standard barium upper GI series
- Double-contrast upper GI series - Looks at the
- esophagus,
- stomach, and
- duodenum
Indications for an Upper GI series?
4
Indications
- Dysphagia
- GERD
- Assessment of hiatal hernia
- Strictures
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Upper GI series contraindications?
4
Risk? 1
Contraindications
- Intestinal obstruction
- Esophageal perforation or rupture is suspected
- Pregnant women
- Individuals with poor swallowing reflex
Risk
- Constipation
Small Bowel Follow Through
Indications
3
- Chrohn’s
- Tumors
- Unexplained abdominal pain
- Lower GI studies aka?
- What does it evaluate?
- What kinds? 2
- Indications? 2
- Risks? 2
- Also called Barium Enema
- Evaluates the colon
3.
- Barium enema
- Air-contrast (double-contrast) enema
4. Indications - Colon cancer (apple core lesion)
- Diagnose/monitor UC or Crohn’s disease
5. Risk - Pregnant women
- Colon perforation
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Lower GI series
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What is a sensitive method to diagnosis abdominal disease?
CT
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CT: Frequently used to do what?
(In the picture what does the 3rd pic show?)
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stage and follow cancer
(Abdominal aneurysm)
Indications for abdominal CT? 3
- Patients with jaundice
- Pancreatic disease
- Hepatic metastases
Abdominal CT
- Shows abdominal wall – localizes_______?
- What may be used to augment the scan?
- Downsides? 2
- Hernias
- Dilute contrast
- Expensive, high doses of radiation
What is this CT showing?
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Gallstone pancreatitis
HEPATOBILIARY SCINTIGRAPHY aka?
(HIDA SCAN/Cholescintigraphy)
HEPATOBILIARY SCINTIGRAPHY (HIDA SCAN/Cholescintigraphy)
- used for what?
- How does it work?
- Indications? 3
- Used in diagnosis of problems with the liver, gallbladder, or bile ducts
- Radio-isotope is taken up in the liver and secreted into the bile
- Indications
- Cholecystitis
- Bile duct obstruction
- Assessment for liver transplant
Label the following letters?
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A: liver parenchyma
B: gallbladder
C: small bowel
D: common bile duct
E: intrahepatic bile duct
Nuclear Imaging of the Gall Bladder
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ABDOMINAL ULTRASONOGRAPHY
- How does it work?
- what is it also known as?
- Can be combined with what to visualize hollow structures?
- Sound waves to visualize internal organs thru abdominal wall
- Known as transabdominal ultrasound
- Can be combined with endoscopy, visualize structures in hollow organs*
Abdominal US:
Advantages? 5
Can be performed
- quickly at bedside;
- no radiation;
- inexpensive
- Imaging occurs real time without need for sedation
- Influence of movements can be assessed quickly
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- Disadvantages of Ab US? 3
- Preferred imaging for what?
- Useful in evaluation of what patient?
- What does FAST mean?
- What does it show? - What provides more definitive information? 2
1.
- Hampered by fat and air
- operator dependent;
- limited sensitivity**
2. Preferred imaging for right upper quadrant pain
3. unstable trauma patient
4. Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma - shows intraperitoneal fluid and also hemopericardium
5. Abdominal and chest CT provides more definitive information
ABDOMINAL ULTRASOUNDS
-Needs skilled technician and able interpreter
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- Endoscopy aka?
- Can visualize what area?
- Advantages? 2
- Most pts have what afterwords?
- EGD – esophagogastroduodenoscopy
- Can visualize the esophagus to the duodenum
–High-definition white light endoscope
3.
- Minimally invasive with quick recovery
- Usually done under conscious or moderate sedation
4. Most patients have a sore throat afterwards
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Endoscopy?
Indications? 4
Contraindications? 3
Indications
- Signs and symptoms of upper GI disease
- Surveillance for upper GI cancer in high-risk settings
- Biopsy
- Therapeutic intervention
Contraindications
- Possible perforation
- Medically unstable/unwilling patients
- anticoagulation
Capsule Endoscopy
Indications? 4
Contraindications? 2
Indications
- Obscure gastrointestinal bleeding
- Inflammatory bowel disease
- Small bowel polyps and tumors
- Celiac disease
Contraindications
- Swallowing d/o
- Small bowel obstruction/stenosis
Why do we use capsule endoscopy?
Patient swallows pill containing a camera
Parts of small bowel not reachable by other endoscopy
FLEXIBLE SIGMOIDOSCOPY
Pros? 4
Cons? 3
Pros
- May be done in office
- Inexpensive, cost-effective
- Reduces deaths from rectal cancer
- Easier bowel preparation, rarely needs sedation
Cons
- Detects only half of polyps
- Misses 40-50% of cancers located beyond the view of the sigmoidoscope
- Often limited by discomfort, poor bowel preparation
FLEXIBLE SIGMOIDOSCOPY
Indications? 4
Contraindications? 3
Indications
- Screening test
- Blood in stool
- Evaluation of colon
- Medical management of colitis
Contraindications
- Bowel perforation
- Acute diverticulitis
- Active peritonitis
- Colonoscopy visualizes what? 3
- White kind of light?
- Requires what?
- Visualization of
- rectum,
- colon
- distal ileum - High definition white light colonoscope
- Requires bowel prep
Uses, complications similar to upper GI endoscopy
Complications rare in diagnostic colonoscopy But can be what? 2
Can have
- bleeding,
- perforation with polypectomy
Colonoscopy
Indications: 3
Contraindications: 4
Indications
- Screening
- Evaluation
- Follow-up colorectal cancer
Contraindications
- Pregnancy
Relative contra:
- Colonic perforation
- Toxic megacolon
- IBD with ulceration
ENDOSCOPIC RETROGRADE CHOLANGIOPANCREATOGRAPHY (ERCP) is what?
Technique that uses combination of luminal endoscopy and fluoroscopic imaging to diagnose and treat conditions associated with the pancreatobiliary system
ENDOSCOPIC RETROGRADE CHOLANGIOPANCREATOGRAPHY (ERCP)
Indications?
2
Biliary disease
Pancreatic disease
ENDOSCOPIC RETROGRADE CHOLANGIOPANCREATOGRAPHY (ERCP)
What reasons would we use this for biliary diseases? 3
- Assessment and treatment of biliary obstruction secondary to choledocholithiasis
- Treatment of choledocholithiasis during cholecystectomy after intraoperative cholangiography
- Assessment and treatment of bile duct strictures
ERCP
What reasons would we use this for pancreatic disease? 2
- Assess and treat acute pancreatitis, strictures, pancreatic duct stones
- Treatment of pseudocyst and malignancies
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ERCP Contraindications? 3
- Refusal
- Unstable cardiopulmonary, neurologic, or cardiovascular status
- Existing bowel perforation
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Strucutures of the Abdomen
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