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Appendicitis in children and young adults: Doppler sonographic-pathologic correlation
H B Patriquin1, J M Garcier, M Lafortune
1Department of Radiology, Hopital Sainte-Justine, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
AJR. American Journal of Roentgenology
|March 1, 1996
Summary
Doppler sonography can visualize appendicitis by detecting increased arterial signals and blood flow. Necrotic appendicitis shows absent signals, while chronic cases have signals confined to the appendix tip.
Area of Science:
- Radiology
- Medical Imaging
- Vascular Ultrasound
Background:
- Appendicitis diagnosis relies on clinical and imaging findings.
- Doppler sonography assesses blood flow, crucial for understanding inflammatory processes.
Purpose of the Study:
- Evaluate Doppler sonography for normal and appendicitis-affected appendices.
- Characterize Doppler patterns in acute, necrotic, and chronic appendicitis.
- Differentiate appendicitis from other right lower quadrant conditions.
Main Methods:
- Sonographic examination of 70 patients (25 controls, 45 suspected appendicitis) using Doppler transducers.
- Analysis of arterial signal presence, quantity (sparse, moderate, abundant), and resistive index (RI).
- Surgical and pathological correlation for 30 patients with appendicitis.
Main Results:
- Normal appendix: sparse signals, high RI (0.85-1).
- Acute appendicitis: abundant signals, lower RI (0.40-0.77).
- Necrotic appendicitis: absent signals in necrotic areas; chronic appendicitis: signals at the tip (RI 0.63-0.83).
Conclusions:
- Appendicitis shows inflammatory hypervascularity on Doppler sonography.
- Ischemic areas in appendicitis lack Doppler signals.
- Other conditions can mimic appendicitis Doppler findings, requiring careful source identification.