Imaging the child with right lower quadrant pain and suspected appendicitis: current concepts

Acute appendicitis is the most common condition presenting with right lower quadrant pain requiring acute surgical intervention in childhood. The clinical diagnosis of acute appendicitis is often not straightforward and can be challenging. Approximately one-third of children with the condition have...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Pediatric radiology 2004-06, Vol.34 (6), p.447-453
Main Author: Sivit, Carlos J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abdominal Pain - diagnostic imaging
Acute Disease
Appendicitis - diagnostic imaging
Child
Diagnosis, Differential
Humans
Tomography, X-Ray Computed
Ultrasonography
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Acute appendicitis is the most common condition presenting with right lower quadrant pain requiring acute surgical intervention in childhood. The clinical diagnosis of acute appendicitis is often not straightforward and can be challenging. Approximately one-third of children with the condition have atypical clinical findings and are initially managed non-operatively. Complications usually result from perforation and include abscess formation, peritonitis, sepsis, bowel obstruction and death. Cross-sectional imaging with sonography and computed tomography (CT) have proven useful for the evaluation of suspected acute appendicitis in children. The principal advantages of sonography are its lower cost, lack of ionizing radiation, and ability to precisely delineate gynecologic disease. The principal advantages of CT are its operator independency with resultant higher diagnostic accuracy, enhanced delineation of disease extent in perforated appendicitis, and improved patient outcomes including decreased negative laparotomy and perforation rates.
ISSN:0301-0449
1432-1998
DOI:10.1007/s00247-004-1179-7