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ISSN-0303-5212 |
| The
Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association Rawalpindi - Islamabad |
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Volume 34, Number 2, July - Dec. 2009 |  |
| Original article |
| Role of abdominal sonography in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis |
| Khalid Saeed, Farzana Mehboob, Vaqar Azam |
| Objective To evaluate the role of abdominal sonography in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis. Method This was a descriptive study and was conducted in the Cantonment General Hospital Rawalpindi from May 2006 to December 2007. A total of 170 patients presenting with a clinical diagnosis of acute appendicitis, irrespective of age and gender, were included in the study. All had an ultrasonography by the graded compression technique. Histopathology was used to compare the clinical and sonographic judgment. Results Out of 170 patients, 118 patients were histologically confirmed acute appendicitis. Ultrasonography suggested 100 out of 118 (85%) patients positive for acute appendicitis. It was normal in 46 out of 52 (88.4%) patients of negative appendicectomies. It gave a false negative result six cases. Sensitivity of sonography was 85% and specificity was 86%. Conclusions The data supports a positive role for sonography in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis. Its role in male adults and children is encouraging, while in female adults ultrasonography has more false negative results. (Rawal Med J 2009;34:138-140). |
| Key Words: Ultrasonography, appendicitis, negative appendicectomy. |
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