Beak sign (small bowel)
Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data
Citation:
Hacking C, Beak sign (small bowel). Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 26 Mar 2025) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-205090
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rID:
205090
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Disclosures:
At the time the article was created Craig Hacking had the following disclosures:
- Philips Australia, Paid speaker at Philips Spectral CT events (ongoing)
These were assessed during peer review and were determined to not be relevant to the changes that were made.
View Craig Hacking's current disclosures
Last revised:
Disclosures:
At the time the article was last revised Craig Hacking had the following disclosures:
- Philips Australia, Paid speaker at Philips Spectral CT events (ongoing)
These were assessed during peer review and were determined to not be relevant to the changes that were made.
View Craig Hacking's current disclosures
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1 time, by
1 contributor -
see full revision history and disclosures
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The beak sign refers to abrupt calibre change of small bowel at the transition point in small bowel obstruction and is typically seen in obstruction due to adhesions 1,2.
It has been shown to have an association with failure of conservative management, along with the fat notch sign 2.
References
- 1. Gopireddy D, Soule E, Arif-Tiwari H et al. Spectrum of CT Findings Related to Bowel Adhesions Without Bowel Obstruction: A Comprehensive Imaging Review. J Clin Imaging Sci. 2020;10:80. doi:10.25259/JCIS_126_2020 - Pubmed
- 2. Desiato E, Lucia A, Giudici S et al. Prognostic Value of CT Findings for Conservative Treatment Failure in Adhesive Small Bowel Obstruction. Emerg Radiol. 2025;32(1):33-40. doi:10.1007/s10140-024-02276-4 - Pubmed
- 3. Osada H, Watanabe W, Ohno H et al. Multidetector CT Appearance of Adhesion-Induced Small Bowel Obstructions: Matted Adhesions Versus Single Adhesive Bands. Jpn J Radiol. 2012;30(9):706-12. doi:10.1007/s11604-012-0121-4 - Pubmed
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