Gynaecological Causes of Acute Pelvic Pain: Common and Not-So-Common Imaging Findings.
Paolo Niccolò FrancoAlejandra García-BaizánMaría AymerichCesare MainoSofia Frade-SantosDavide IppolitoMilagros Otero-GarcíaPublished in: Life (Basel, Switzerland) (2023)
In female patients, acute pelvic pain can be caused by gynaecological, gastrointestinal, and urinary tract pathologies. Due to the variety of diagnostic possibilities, the correct assessment of these patients may be challenging. The most frequent gynaecological causes of acute pelvic pain in non-pregnant women are pelvic inflammatory disease, ruptured ovarian cysts, ovarian torsion, and degeneration or torsion of uterine leiomyomas. On the other hand, spontaneous abortion, ectopic pregnancy, and placental disorders are the most frequent gynaecological entities to cause acute pelvic pain in pregnant patients. Ultrasound (US) is usually the first-line diagnostic technique because of its sensitivity across most common aetiologies and its lack of radiation exposure. Computed tomography (CT) may be performed if ultrasound findings are equivocal or if a gynaecologic disease is not initially suspected. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an extremely useful second-line technique for further characterisation after US or CT. This pictorial review aims to review the spectrum of gynaecological entities that may manifest as acute pelvic pain in the emergency department and to describe the imaging findings of these gynaecological conditions obtained with different imaging techniques.
Keyphrases
- magnetic resonance imaging
- computed tomography
- end stage renal disease
- liver failure
- chronic pain
- emergency department
- pregnant women
- rectal cancer
- contrast enhanced
- chronic kidney disease
- newly diagnosed
- ejection fraction
- pain management
- respiratory failure
- neuropathic pain
- high resolution
- aortic dissection
- drug induced
- patient reported outcomes
- oxidative stress
- peritoneal dialysis
- magnetic resonance
- intensive care unit
- spinal cord injury
- mass spectrometry
- dual energy
- image quality
- postoperative pain
- diffusion weighted imaging
- acute respiratory distress syndrome
- brain injury
- pet ct