title: Ultrasonography of normal and abnormal appendix in children.
abstract: Appendicitis is the most common acute surgical emergency of childhood. Since the original report by Puylaert in 1986, the use of ultrasonography in the diagnosis of appendicitis has been the subject of considerable study. Among the reported diagnostic criteria, the maximal outer diameter (MOD) of the appendix is accepted as the one of the most reliable criteria used to differentiate between a normal appendix and acute appendicitis. However, MOD measurement is subject to inaccuracies because luminal distention by non-compressible, non-inflammatory material such as fecal material, or increased maximal mural thickness due to reactive mucosal lymphoid hyperplasia, or a medical cause due to a generalized gastrointestinal disease, such as Crohn's disease, can cause the measurement to exceed the upper limits of normality. The aim of this article is to introduce the spectrum of ultrasonographic findings in the normal and abnormal appendix and eventually to reduce unnecessary surgery in children.
authors.affiliation: Noh Hyuck Park, Hee Jin Park, Ji Yeon Park, Department of Radiology, Kwandong University College of Medicine, Myongji Hospital, 697-24 Hwajung-dong, Deokyang-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do 412-270, South Korea.
authors.forename: Noh Hyuck
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Hwa Eun
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.forename: Hee Jin
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Ji Yeon
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Park