Base line tenting: a sign of duodenal ulcer disease.

Indirect signs such as clover-leaf deformity, pseudodiverticulum formation, eccentric location of pyloric channel, and flattening of the fornix are of considerable value in the radiologic detection of an ulcer crater. We have found another indirect sign, base line tenting (BLT) to be very useful in the detection and diagnosis of duodenal ulcer disease. This is characterized by interruption of the base line of the bulb, with 2 associated perpendicular lines extending from the base and converging to a point in the duodenal bulb. After we observed this sign in various patients with peptic ulcer disease, a prospective investigation was performed involving 62 patients with duodenal ulcer disease over a period of 2 years. We found the BLT sign in 52 (83.8%). To date, no false-positive incidence has been identified. We concluded that BLT is a most valuable sign in the radiologic identification of duodenal ulcer disease.