Radiologic Hallmarks of Colonic Volvulus: A Narrative Review

Volvulus is a cause of acute abdominal pain and imaging methods are essential for the diagnosis. During basic medical training, it is taught that the coffee bean sign, visible on radiographs, is indicative of an intestinal volvulus; however, numerous radiological signs are also visible on X-ray, fluoroscopy, CT, and MRI. Therefore, a literature review was conducted using ScienceDirect, Elsevier, PubMed Central, and Ovid Lippincott Williams & Wilkins databases, from which 32 articles in English and Spanish were extracted. This review found that there are many more signs for diagnosing colonic volvulus than just the coffee bean. CT is the most sensitive and specific method; if X-ray is combined with contrast enema, the sensitivity increases. The preferred methods for people who can't be exposed to ionizing radiation are US and MRI.