ObjectiveTo investigate the diagnostic value of intra-intestinal angiography CT in patients with anastomotic leakage (AL) after rectal cancer resection.MethodsPatients who admitted to The Department of General Surgery of The No. 900 Hospital of The Joint Logistic Team from January 2013 to October 2018, who were diagnosed with rectal cancer and underwent rectal cancer resection with sphincter preserving surgery, were retrospectively collected in the study. All patients underwent routine imaging examination on the 7th day after rectal cancer operation. The retrograde contrast enema (RCE) was performed to obtain the abdominal X-ray film, then the pelvic CT scan was performed to get the CT image of the intestinal lumen. The films were reviewed by 2 senior radiologists, and the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of RCE and intra-intestinal angiography CT in the diagnosis of AL after rectal cancer resection were evaluated. Evaluated the sensitivity of the CT image feature to predict AL after rectal cancer resection.ResultsThe sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of RCE in the diagnosis of AL after the rectal cancer resection were 69.23% (18/26), 98.64% (218/221), 85.71% (18/21), and 96.46% (218/226) respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of intra-intestinal angiography CT were 96.15% (25/26), 99.09% (219/221), 92.59% (25/27), and 99.54% (219/220) respectively. The sensitivity and NPV of intra-intestinal angiography CT in diagnosis of AL were significantly higher than those of RCE (P<0.05). The sensitivity of contrast agent leakage to diagnosis of AL was the highest, reaching 96.15% (25/26).ConclusionsThe sensitivity of intra-intestinal angiography CT in the diagnosis of AL is high and the overall diagnostic efficiency is better than RCE, and the leakage of contrast agent is the main imaging feature of AL. It is significant to guide the clinical practice.