Fat stranding (summary)

Changed by Daniel J Bell, 14 Nov 2017

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Fat~~-stranding~~ stranding (summary)

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Fat stranding is a sign that is seen on CT. It describes the change in attenuation of fat around an inflamed structure and is a very helpful signpost for intra-abdominal pathology.

Reference article

This is a summary article; read more in our article on fat stranding on CT.

Summary

pathophysiology
- relatively high sensitivity for intra-abdominal pathology
  - many inflammatory processes will cause fat-stranding
- non-specific
  - fat~~-stranding~~ stranding just means that there is inflammation close by
- common causes
- other causes
  - ischaemia/infarction, e.g. omental infarction
  - vascular, e.g. aneurysm
investigation
- fat~~-stranding~~ stranding is primarily seen on CT
- inflammatory fat may be seen on US and MRI

Radiographic features

CT

The density of the affected fat changes. Usually fat is dark grey, but when there is oedema in the fat, the density increases and it becomes progressively lighter and progressively closer to the ~~colour~~density of muscle.

~~-<li>non-specific<ul><li>fat-stranding just means that there is inflammation close by</li></ul>~~
+<li>non-specific<ul><li>fat stranding just means that there is inflammation close by</li></ul>
~~-<li>fat-stranding is primarily seen on CT</li>~~
+<li>fat stranding is primarily seen on CT</li>
-</ul><h4>Radiographic features</h4><h5>CT</h5><p>The density of the affected fat changes. Usually fat is dark grey, but when there is oedema in the fat, the density increases and it becomes progressively lighter and progressively closer to the colour of muscle.</p>
+</ul><h4>Radiographic features</h4><h5>CT</h5><p>The density of the affected fat changes. Usually fat is dark grey, but when there is oedema in the fat, the density increases and it becomes progressively lighter and progressively closer to the density of muscle.</p>