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Nonocclusive mesenteric ischaemia: think about it

  • EMERGENCY RADIOLOGY
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Abstract

Nonocclusive mesenteric ischaemia (NOMI) is an acute mesenteric circulatory disorder that is not caused by an organic occlusion of blood vessels. It could involve all the abdominal parenchymas and viscera and the whole gastrointestinal tract (from the oesophagus to the rectum), insomuch that the involvement of the entire colon should be considered a distinctive tract in diagnosing this condition in respect of the occlusive forms of ischaemia. The aim of this article is to review the role of imaging in the diagnosis of NOMI and in particular its CT appearances. Recognition of the characteristic CT appearances and the variations associated with a reperfusion event may help in the accurate interpretation of CT in the diagnosis and management of NOMI.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Ms. Julia Hassall for reviewing the English language, Dr. Susanna Guerrini for editorial assistance in the manuscript preparation and Dr. Nevada Cioffi Squitieri, Dr. Giusi Imbriaco and Dr. Francesco Giuseppe Mazzei for collecting the case history data.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical, Surgical and Neuro Sciences, Diagnostic Imaging, University of Siena, Viale Bracci 10, 53100, Siena, Italy

    Maria Antonietta Mazzei & Luca Volterrani

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  1. Maria Antonietta Mazzei
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  2. Luca Volterrani
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Correspondence to Maria Antonietta Mazzei.

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Mazzei, M.A., Volterrani, L. Nonocclusive mesenteric ischaemia: think about it. Radiol med 120, 85–95 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11547-014-0460-6

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