WEDNESDAY, March 1 (HealthDay News) -- In pregnant women presenting with acute abdominal pain, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an excellent tool to rule out acute appendicitis, according to a study published in the March issue of Radiology.
Ivan Pedrosa, M.D., of the Harvard Medical School in Boston, and colleagues reviewed MRIs of 51 pregnant patients who were suspected at clinical examination of having acute appendicitis. The scans were conducted when the results of ultrasound scans were inconclusive.
Four patients had appendicitis, confirmed by surgery in three cases and by computed tomography in the fourth case. During MRI, a normal appendix was defined as no more than 6 mm in diameter or filled with air, oral contrast material or both. An appendix that was enlarged to more than 7 mm in diameter and fluid-filled was considered abnormal and a result of an appendix enlarged to between 6 mm and 7 mm in diameter was deemed inconclusive.
For MRI overall, the sensitivity was 100 percent, specificity was 93.6 percent, accuracy was 94 percent and prevalence-adjusted positive and negative predictive values were 1.4 percent and 100 percent, respectively.
"Magnetic resonance imaging is an excellent modality for use in excluding acute appendicitis in pregnant women," the authors conclude.
Abstract
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