Uncommon and unusual gastrointestinal causes of the acute abdomen: computed tomographic diagnosis

There is a wide variety of uncommon and unusual gastrointestinal causes of acute abdominal and pelvic pain that may be prospectively diagnosed on computed tomography. We demonstrate 10 such diagnoses and briefly review the current computed tomography and clinical literature on intussusception occurring beyond early childhood, small bowel obstruction from internal hernia, cecal volvulus, intramural small bowel hemorrhage, Boerhaave's syndrome, gastrointestinal luminal foreign bodies, small bowel diverticulitis, hemoperitoneum secondary to abdominal tumor; gallstone ileus, and gallbladder torsion. Radiologists and clinicians need to be aware of these disorders, particularly with the widespread utilization of computed tomography (CT) in the management of patients with acute abdominal pain.