Epiploic appendagitis and omental infarction: diagnostic imaging findings

Segmental infarcts of the omentum and primary epiploic appendagitis are two infrequent causes of non-surgical acute abdomen that are usually confused with other surgical pathologies like diverticulitis, appendicitis or cholecystitis. Both have similar clinic, prognosis and treatment. Between November 1998 and August 2001, 10 cases of epiploic appendagitis and 6 of segmental infarction of the omentum were diagnosed with afterward CT confirmation of 6 epiploic appendagitis and all the segmental infarction of the omentum. One patient presented an association between Schoenlein-Henoch's purpura and segmental infarction of the omentum. All of them were handled in a conservative way. US and CT allow a correct diagnosis, avoiding unnecessary surgery. The main purpose of this paper is to describe the clinic, US and CT features and to correlate our findings to the ones reported in international literature. (author)