Type:
Educational Exhibit
Keywords:
Foreign bodies, Diagnostic procedure, CT, Conventional radiography, Emergency, Abdomen
Authors:
M. Dimarco1, L. Pennisi1, F. Arnone2, R. Cannella1, D. Giambelluca1, M. Midiri1; 1Palermo/IT, 2Partinico/IT
DOI:
10.26044/ecr2019/C-3207
Background
The term "foreign body" defines the presence,
within the organism,
of one or more objects originating outside the body.
Their placement within organism may be more or less voluntary (i.e.
following accidents or in psychiatric patients) or may be the consequence of dislocation of medical-surgical devices (i.e.
prostheses,
vertebral stabilizers).
Therefore,
an exhaustive anamnesis is crucial.
In order to detect foreign bodies,
almost all imaging modalities can be adopted (from conventional plain radiographs to CT,
ultrasound to,
in selected cases,
MRI).
With different levels of accuracy and sensibility,
they allow to evaluate not only the characteristics of the foreign body but also its location and position,
and provide information on its possible removal [1].