Complications of abdominal and pelvic procedures: computed tomographic diagnosis

The postprocedural period is a critical time in which serious complications can manifest. Localization of suspected complications following abdominal and pelvic procedures can be difficult on clinical evaluation alone. For example, abdominal pain after a colonoscopy may vary in etiology and can result from simple colonic spasm to colonic perforation, hemoperitoneum, or even splenic rupture. Vague abdominal pain following a renal biopsy may be due to minimal postprocedural bleeding into and around the kidney or may be due to potentially life-threatening hemorrhage. In such patients, computed tomography can play a crucial role in the rapid identification of complications as well guidance of subsequent patient management. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the benefit of computed tomography-assisted diagnosis of complications associated with routine procedures performed on or throughout the abdomen and pelvis, including cardiac catheterization, colonoscopy, endoscopy, percutaneous biopsy, and interventional radiology procedures.