title: ACR Appropriateness Criteria on acute pelvic pain in the reproductive age group.
abstract: Premenopausal women who present with acute pelvic pain frequently pose a diagnostic dilemma, exhibiting nonspecific signs and symptoms, the most common being nausea, vomiting, and leukocytosis. Diagnostic considerations encompass multiple organ systems, including obstetric, gynecologic, urologic, gastrointestinal, and vascular etiologies. The selection of imaging modality is determined by the clinically suspected differential diagnosis. Thus, a careful evaluation of such a patient should be performed and diagnostic considerations narrowed before a modality is chosen. Transvaginal and transabdominal pelvic sonography is the modality of choice when an obstetric or gynecologic abnormality is suspected, and computed tomography is more useful when gastrointestinal or genitourinary pathology is more likely. Magnetic resonance imaging, when available in the acute setting, is favored over computed tomography for assessing pregnant patients for nongynecologic etiologies because of the lack of ionizing radiation.
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Department of Radiology, Nashville, TN 37232-0011, USA. rochelle.f.andreotti@vanderbilt.edu
authors.forename: Rochelle F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Andreotti
authors.forename: Susanna I
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Garry
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Choy
authors.forename: Sandra O
authors.initials: SO
authors.lastname: DeJesus Allison
authors.forename: Genevieve L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Bennett
authors.forename: Douglas L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Phyllis
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Glanc
authors.forename: Mindy M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Horrow
authors.forename: Marcia C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Javitt
authors.forename: Anna S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Lev-Toaff
authors.forename: Ann E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Podrasky
authors.forename: Leslie M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Scoutt
authors.forename: Carolyn
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zelop