Role of Multidetector CT Enterography in Diagnosis of Small Intestinal Masses

Purpose: To evaluate role of multidetector CT Enterography (CTE) in diagnosis of small intestinal tumors. Material and Methods: Sixty six patients (40-76 years) presented with clinical suspicion of small intestinal tumors. They underwent CTE with a 64 multidetector CT before operation. Two independent gastrointestinal radiologists analysed CTE images. Post operative histopathological examination was considered the reference standard. Sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive and negative predictive value were calculated. Results: Positive radiological findings suggestive of small intestinal tumors were obtained in 34 cases and negative in 32 cases. Pathology confirmed diagnosis in 29 cases: Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (n=13), Non Hodgkin lymphoma (n= 11), Carcinoid tumor (n=2), one case of adenocarcinoma of the deodenum, one case of liomyosarcoma of the ileum and one case of metastatic deposits from colonic adenocarcinoma. Overall sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of CTE in detection of small intestinal tumors were 82.8%, 83.8% and 83.3% respectively with positive predictive value of 85.2% and negative predictive value of 81.2%. Conclusion: Multidetector CTE is a promising valuable tool that helps in precise localization, characterization and staging of small bowel tumor with high diagnostic accuracy.