ArticleInsights into imaging2016
How to diagnose acute appendicitis: ultrasound first.
Article in Insights into imaging, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 70 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
A Prospective Non-randomized Controlled, Multicenter, Multidisciplinary Trial Comparing Appendectomy and Conservative Treatment for Patients With Uncomplicated Acute Appendicitis (the ACTUAA STUDY).
Role of Duplex Doppler In Diagnosis of Acute Appendicitis : in Correlation With Surgical Management Outcome
Who cites it
70 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Swedish national guidelines for diagnosis and management of acute appendicitis in adults and children.BJS open · 2025Guideline
- Rapid MRI Abdomen for Assessment of Clinically Suspected Acute Appendicitis in the General Adult Population: a Systematic Review.Journal of gastrointestinal surgery : official journal of the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract · 2023Pooled it
- Diagnostic agreement between emergency medicine residents after dedicated appendix ultrasound training and radiologists in the ultrasonographic evaluation of suspected acute appendicitis.Emergency radiology · 2026Article
- Screening Ultrasonography in a Basic Emergency Service for Suspected Acute Appendicitis: A Case Report.Cureus · 2026Article
- Equivocal MRI findings of suspected acute appendicitis in children and young adults: utilization of novel 5-component scoring system for improving diagnostic accuracy.Emergency radiology · 2026Article
- Current Management of Uncomplicated Acute Appendicitis: A Narrative Review of Nonoperative and Surgical Strategies.Cureus · 2026Review
- Hospitalization costs of pediatric acute appendicitis in Western Romania: a single-center retrospective study.Journal of medicine and life · 2026Article
- Review
- Hyperbilirubinemia as a Marker for Complicated Acute Appendicitis: A Systematic Review.Cureus · 2025Review
- Acute appendicitis masquerading as food poisoning.Radiology case reports · 2025Article
- Predictive Value of Clinical and CT Scan Findings for Complicated Appendicitis: A Retrospective Analysis.Cureus · 2025Article
- Ultrasound Diagnosis of Acute Appendicitis in Pediatrics: A Community Hospital Network Experience.Cureus · 2025Article
- Using a sum of the cross diameters of the appendix measured on ultrasonography as a criterion can more effectively predict acute appendicitis.European radiology · 2025Article
- Pediatric Appendicitis Score and Ultrasound in children with Acute Appendicitis: An Observational Study.JNMA; journal of the Nepal Medical Association · 2025Observational
- Predictive Factors of Acute Appendicitis and Its Outcomes Among the Pediatric Age Group.Cureus · 2025Article
- Article
- Fever, Abdominal Pain, and Inflammation in a Young Woman-Appendix, Liver, or Both?Digestive diseases and sciences · 2024Article
- Diagnostic performance of spectral Doppler in acute appendicitis with an equivocal Alvarado score.Emergency radiology · 2024Article
- Case report: A rare cause of intestinal perforation in a third-trimester pregnant woman.Frontiers in medicine · 2024Article
- Two-dimensional shear wave elastography can improve the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasonography in acute appendicitis.Journal of ultrasound · 2023Article
10 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Acute appendicitis (AA) is a common abdominal emergency with a lifetime prevalence of about 7 %. As the clinical diagnosis of AA remains a challenge to emergency physicians and surgeons, imaging modalities have gained major importance in the diagnostic work-up of patients with suspected AA in order to keep both the negative appendectomy rate and the perforation rate low. Introduced in 1986, graded-compression ultrasound (US) has well-established direct and indirect signs for diagnosing AA. In our opinion, US should be the first-line imaging modality, as graded-compression US has excellent specificity both in the paediatric and adult patient populations. As US sensitivity is limited, and non-diagnostic US examinations with non-visualization of the appendix are more a rule than an exception, diagnostic strategies and algorithms after non-diagnostic US should focus on clinical reassessment and complementary imaging with MRI/CT if indicated. Accordingly, both ionizing radiation to our patients and cost of pre-therapeutic diagnosis of AA will be low, with low negative appendectomy and perforation rates. Main Messages • Ultrasound (US) should be the first imaging modality for diagnosing acute appendicitis (AA). • Primary US for AA diagnosis will decrease ionizing radiation and cost. • Sensitivity of US to diagnose AA is lower than of CT/MRI. • Non-visualization of the appendix should lead to clinical reassessment. • Complementary MRI or CT may be performed if diagnosis remains unclear.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.