Non-Contrast Abdominal CT for Surgeons: A Practical Reading Algorithm
How much can a surgeon learn from a non-contrast CT before a formal radiology report is available? Drawing on anonymized examinations performed at Zaporizhzhia Military Hospital, this lecture presents a repeatable first-minutes algorithm designed for high-volume trauma care.
The session explains how lung, soft-tissue, and bone windows reveal different parts of the same study. Clinical examples demonstrate how to search systematically for free gas, fluid and hematomas, inflammatory changes, obstruction, ischemia, organ injury, fractures, and foreign bodies. Particular attention is given to subtle changes in mesenteric and visceral fat—the clue that can transform an equivocal image into a meaningful surgical finding.
Cases of penetrating trauma and acute abdominal disease show both the diagnostic value and the limitations of native CT. The goal is not to replace contrast-enhanced imaging or the radiologist, but to recognize when the available findings are already sufficient for an urgent surgical decision—and when further imaging remains essential. The concluding Q&A addresses practical CT-viewer choices, enteric contrast, postoperative assessment, and everyday interpretation challenges.
The session explains how lung, soft-tissue, and bone windows reveal different parts of the same study. Clinical examples demonstrate how to search systematically for free gas, fluid and hematomas, inflammatory changes, obstruction, ischemia, organ injury, fractures, and foreign bodies. Particular attention is given to subtle changes in mesenteric and visceral fat—the clue that can transform an equivocal image into a meaningful surgical finding.
Cases of penetrating trauma and acute abdominal disease show both the diagnostic value and the limitations of native CT. The goal is not to replace contrast-enhanced imaging or the radiologist, but to recognize when the available findings are already sufficient for an urgent surgical decision—and when further imaging remains essential. The concluding Q&A addresses practical CT-viewer choices, enteric contrast, postoperative assessment, and everyday interpretation challenges.