Nodular image in the appendix observed on ultrasound: endometriosis or neuroendocrine neoplasia?

To evaluate the association between clinical and imaging with surgical and pathological findings in patients with suspected neuroendocrine tumor of appendix and/or appendix endometriosis.

Retrospective descriptive study conducted at the Teaching and Research Institute of Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, in which medical records and databases of patients with suspected neuroendocrine tumor of appendix and/or endometriosis of appendix were analyzed by imaging.

Twenty-eight patients were included, all of which had some type of appendix alteration on the ultrasound examination. The pathological outcome of the appendix found 25 (89.3%) lesions compatible with endometriosis and three (10.7%) neuroendocrine tumors. The clinical findings of imaging and surgery were compared with the result of pathological anatomy by means of relative frequency.

It was possible to observe a higher prevalence of appendix endometriosis when the patient presented more intense pain symptoms. The image observed on ultrasound obtained a high positive predictive value for appendicular endometriosis.