title: Significance of ultrasound and gallium scanning in detecting intraabdominal abscesses.
abstract: The diagnostic value of ultrasound was compared to that of gallium scan in 36 patients with clinically suspected intraabdominal abscessed. Both modalities reached an accuracy of 91.6%. The gallium scan was found to be more sensitive (93.3%) than ultrasound (86.6%), while the specificity rate of ultrasound (95.2%) was superior to that of the gallium scan (90.4%). It is suggested that, in the acutely ill patient, ultrasound should be the method of choice, whereas in the nonacute patient, either method may be used. A positive ultrasound examination and a negative gallium scan can be considered conclusive, whereas a negative ultrasound study or a positive gallium scan needs the complimentary support of the other modality in order to reach a definite conclusion.
mesh_terms: D000005:Abdomen / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D000038:Abscess / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D000208:Acute Disease; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005188:False Negative Reactions; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D005710:Gallium Radioisotopes; D006801:Humans; D014055:Tomography, Emission-Computed; D014463:Ultrasonography
chemical_list: D005710:Gallium Radioisotopes