Ultrasonographic evaluation of acute appendicitis.

Twenty-one patients with a clinical diagnosis of acute appendicitis underwent graded compression ultrasonography as an ongoing clinical study. The findings at surgery were compared with the ultrasonographic findings. There were no false-positive, 8 false-negative, 9 true-positive, and 11 true-negative results. The specificity was 100% and sensitivity, 52.9% The findings of this study, in contrast to findings of other recently reported studies, demonstrates that ultrasonography is a poor modality with which to evaluate acute appendicitis.