Patients present with acute abdominal pain frequently at emergency departments. Because of the variety of possible diagnoses and the subsequent, sometimes urgent therapeutic regimen, a fast diagnosis and a quick assessment of the severity of disease are mandatory. Currently, computed tomography (CT) and ultrasonography (US) are the cross-sectional imaging modalities of choice in this setting. [1,2] Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging enables assessment of the entire abdomen within several minutes without ionizing radiation. MR imaging provides sensitivities and specificities similar to those of CT and is...

We retrospectively reviewed abdominal MR images and histories of 28 patients with subhepatic abscesses. Most of them had postoperative complication -75 % (n = 21), 25 % (n = 7) of them – had complication of acute cholecystitis. All patients had an ultrasound (US), abdominal and chest X-ray, computed tomography (CT) and MRI with MR cholangiopancreatography (MRCP). Study was performed using 1,5T MR. Results were correlated with surgical findings.

MRI finding of a subhepatic abscesses include a round or oval fluid collection surrounded by a thin or thick wall, with liquid signal performance of hypointensity on T1-weighted images and hyperintensity on T2- weighted images with enhancing wall. In 23 % cases liquid-form mass was inhomogeneous, it include septums or gas vials (Fig. 1). 71 % of patients (n = 20) had inflamed adjacent structure (surrounding fat, hepatic parenchyma (Fig. 2), pancreatic parenchyma, wall of an intestine, etc.) (p < 0,001). 57 % of patients...

Our results suggest that MRI imaging can be useful in the diagnosis of subhepatic abscesses. Liquid form mass and inflamed adjacent structures are characteristic MR-signs. MRCP with axial STIR T2 –weighted imaging can be a valuable alternative to a CT scan after US.

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