Keywords:
Infection, Acute, Diagnostic procedure, Audit and standards, Ultrasound, CT, Emergency, Abdomen
Authors:
P. Sousa1, A. Ferreira2, L. Gargaté1; 1Loures/PT, 2Lisboa, Grande Lisboa/PT
DOI:
10.26044/ecr2019/C-0583
Aims and objectives
Acute appendicitis is one of the most frequently suspected acute abdominal conditions in the emergency department and the most common indication for emergency abdominal surgery.
Ultrasound (US) is the modality of choice in patients with suspected appendicitis due to its low price,
accessibility,
lack of ionising radiation and generally good diagnostic accuracy reported in the literature,
albeit with a wide range of sensitivity and specificity reported.
The principal limitation of the US is its diagnostic variability,
highly dependent on the radiologist/operator skills and experience,
and patient features,
mostly body habitus and intestinal gases.
It's important for every radiology department to keep track of its diagnostic performance,
mainly in conditions commonly encountered in an emergency setting,
such as acute appendicitis.
The propose of this study was to review the use of imaging modalities on the diagnosis of acute appendicitis in our institution,
with a special focus on the value of ultrasound.