Describe the CT findings in small bowel obstruction secondary to bezoar and establish keys for the differential diagnosis with other cases of small bowel obstruction where the "small-bowel faeces sign" can be seen.

A bezoar is a food conglomerate or foreign material ingested but not digested within the gastrointestinal tract. Bezoars are usually formed in the stomach but sometimes the whole or a part of them may pass into the small bowel where they can occasionally cause obstruction in narrow areas such as the stomach, the ileum (in its narrowest portion at 50-75 cm from the ileocecal valve or in the ileocecal valve) or in areas of surgical anastomosis. PREDISPOSING FACTORS - Previous gastric or intestinal surgery. -...

MDCT is a very useful diagnostic tool since clinical and laboratory findings are similar for bezoars and other causes of small-bowel obstruction. It is superior to any other imaging technique for the differential diagnosis between those entities, as well as to determine the degree of obstruction and complications. MDCT allows evaluation of: Location of bezoar and transition point. Visualization of a gastric lesion with characteristics similar to the intestinal lesion. Size, length, and morphology of the lesion. Presence of "wall / capsule" Presence of floating...

Small bowel obstruction secondary to bezoar is an infrequent but potentially serious condition that requires urgent surgical treatment. In order to establish a rapid and accurate treatment, radiologists must be able to identify this entity differentiating it from those cases of obstruction non-related to bezoar where the "small-bowel faeces sign" is observed. Features as shape, margins, size and presence of a similar mottled mass in the stomach, will help us make the diagnosis with a high degree of accuracy. Fig. 8

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