Ultrasonography in the management of acute appendicitis

Background: Ultrasonography (US) shows promise in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis.Methods: The authors present their own experience in ultrasonography (US) employed in the diagnosis of appendicitis, based on 40 patients admitted to the Department of Surgery of the University of Perugia.Results: US was found to be easily obtainable and reliable; it had good specificity and sensitivity, was not very time consuming, and had a good cost/benefit ratio.Conclusions: The authors believe US is an important diagnostic tool that can reduce useless laparotomies for false acute appendicitis, particularly in cases presenting with unclear clinical findings.