title: Sensitivity and specificity of ultrasound in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis.
abstract: The aim of this study was to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of ultrasound in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis at Al-Shefa hospital, Gaza Strip, Palestine. Patients who had appendicitis diagnosed by ultrasound over the study period (n = 180) underwent surgical excision of the appendix. The negative appendectomy rate was low, with only 4.4% (8/180) false positives. A significantly higher false diagnosis rate (false negatives + false positives) was obtained in female patients than in males: 38.5% versus 6.2%. A high proportion of falsely diagnosed cases had abnormal weight (overweight or obese) (82.1%). The overall sensitivity and specificity of ultrasound, using surgical outcome as the gold standard, were 84.8% and 83.3% respectively, and the positive and negative predictive values were 93.3% and 66.7% respectively. Sensitivity and specificity were higher in males (95.7% and 88.2% respectively) than females (84.6% and 71.4% respectively).
authors.affiliation: Medical Radiography Department, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Al-Azhar University, Gaza Strip, Palestine. Yasser_ajr@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Al-Ajerami
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001064:Appendicitis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008877:Middle East; D009765:Obesity; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012737:Sex Factors; D014463:Ultrasonography