Small-bowel bezoar versus small-bowel feces: CT evaluation.

Objective: The objective of our study was to evaluate the accuracy of CT for differentiating small-bowel bezoar from small-bowel feces in cases of small-bowel obstruction (SBO).

Conclusions: In cases of SBO, although some CT features of bezoars and small-bowel feces overlap, a well-defined mass mottled with gas bubbles associated with an encapsulating wall, the newly described "floating fat-density debris" sign, and a lesion in the stomach that appears similar to the obstructing mass is typical of a small-bowel bezoar; an isolated amorphous mass mottled with gas bubbles is typical of small-bowel feces.