Acute colonic disease: How to image in emergency

The diseases affecting the large intestine represent a diagnostic problem in adult patients with acute abdomen, especially when clinical symptoms are not specific. The role of the diagnostic imaging is to help clinicians and surgeons in differential diagnosis for an efficient early and prompt therapy to perform. This review article summarizes the imaging spectrum of findings of colonic acute disease, from mechanical obstruction to inflammatory diseases and perforation, offering keys to problem solving in doubtful cases as well as discussing regarding the more indicated imaging method to use in emergency, particularly MDCT.