[The ultrasonic picture of acute appendicitis]

A total of 42 patients with clinically suspect acute appendicitis or equivocal clinical finding indicating this diagnosis were examined by means of high resolution ultrasonography. The sensitivity reached in a group of 14 patients with acute appendicitis confirmed by surgery was 92.8%. The finding was considered positive if the appendix was visualized and, at the same time, its wall was wider than 3 mm or if there was an anechogenic lumen. In this way the specificity for the diagnosis reached 100%, overall accuracy reaching 95.2%. In this study there were two non-diagnostic cases and one false-negative case. In one subject without clinical signs of acute appendicitis there was a picture of normal appendix. A detailed attention was also paid to eight patients (from the total of 26 who were indeed negative), where ultrasonography contributed to the detection of another organic origin of the patients' complaints. The results have shown that ultrasonography may significantly contribute in conditions, where the surgeon is reluctant whether to operate on or not. This method appears to be a contribution also for differential diagnosis in this area.