Computed tomography of duodenal diverticula

Duodenal diverticula are common and usually considered to be incidental findings. However, they may cause significant patient morbidity due to inflammatory or pressure effects and may be mistaken for pancreatic pathology on CT. We correlated the CT and upper gastrointestinal series appearance of duodenal diverticula in 14 patients, including two patients in whom erroneous diagnoses of pancreatic pseudocyst and pancreatic abscess were suggested based on CT findings. The duodenal diverticulum was visualized on CT in 10 of 14 patients (71%). The CT appearance was variable, with some diverticula containing air, fluid, contrast medium, or a mixture of the three.