Correlations between colonic wall thickening in patients with virally induced cirrhosis on CT and clinical status

The purpose of this work was to determine the frequency and CT imaging spectrum of colonic wall thickening and correlate these with the clinical severity of virally induced cirrhosis.

Fifty-nine patients were identified with virally induced cirrhosis and no other causes of colonic wall thickening. The abdominal CT scans of these patients were retrospectively reviewed by two radiologists to determine the presence of colonic wall thickening from the ascending colon to the descending colon, to assess the segmental distribution, and to correlate these findings with the clinical status assessed by Child-Pugh classification, presence of ascites, splenic volume index, varices score, and serum albumin levels.

Colonic wall thickening was identified in 18 (31%) patients. The frequency of the affected distribution of colonic wall thickening was as follows: ascending colon in 17 (29%) patients, transverse colon in 11 (19%) patients, and descending colon in 7 patients (12%). The ascending colon was the most common site of colonic wall thickening (p < 0.001). Ten (17%) patients had multisegmental distributions. Colonic wall thickening had a statistically significant association with Child-Pugh grades A, B, and C (p < 0.0001), presence of ascites (p < 0.0004), splenic volume index (p = 0.0026), varices score (p < 0.0001), and serum albumin levels (p = 0.0364). The segmental distribution of wall thickening significantly correlated with Child-Pugh grades A, B, and C (p = 0.0005), presence of ascites (p < 0.001), varices score (p < 0.0001), serum albumin levels (p < 0.0001), and splenic volume index (p = 0.0135).

Colonic wall thickening occurs commonly in patients with virally induced cirrhosis. The presence and number of colonic wall thickening were correlated with the grading of the severity of cirrhosis.