Computed tomography of rectal and perirectal disease in AIDS patients

Twenty-eight homosexual men with Kaposi sarcoma as part of the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS-related KS) and 2 homosexual men without AIDS were examined with abdominal and pelvic computed tomography (CT). Abnormalities of the rectum and perirectal areas were seen in 8 of the 30 patients on CT examination. Endoscopy and biopsy of the colon in these 8 cases revealed inflammatory changes in 6 patients and KS in 2. The CT abnormalities were not specific for inflammatory disease or tumor, and endoscopy with biopsy was necessary to establish an accurate diagnosis.