Presentation
Hospitalized for pneumonia. Now increasing abdominal pain.
Patient Data
The majority of the large bowel, from approximately the hepatic flexure down to the anus, is thick-walled with enhancing mucosa and minor pericolic fat stranding. The lumen is fluid-filled and only mildly distended, particularly distally. There is no free intra-abdominal fluid or gas. No mesenteric gas or portal gas.
Incidental note is made of a prominent common bile duct and a duodenal diverticulum.
Annotated images:
- abnormal colon wall with thickened wall (blue arrow), prominently enhancing mucosa (yellow arrow) and fluid filled lumen (orange arrow).
- duodenal diverticulum (red *) is fluid filled, and projects medially. The common bile duct (green *) is enlarged.
Case Discussion
This case is typical both in terms of presentation and in terms of imaging findings of pseudomembranous colitis. The patient made an uneventful recovery.