title: Computed tomographic scan diagnosis of appendicitis in children by pediatric and adult radiologists.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Computed tomographic (CT) scans are an accepted radiographic mode to the diagnosis of appendicitis. Radiologists play a critical role in its diagnostic accuracy. The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a difference in the diagnostic accuracy between pediatric and general radiologists interpreting pediatric abdominal/pelvic CT scans for appendicitis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Computed tomographic scans of 10 patients (5 with appendicitis and 5 without appendicitis) were presented on a password-protected Web site. Radiologists rated the CT scans for the likelihood of appendicitis on a grading scale from 1 to 5.
  
  
  RESULTS
  This is a report of data from 6 pediatric radiologists and 13 general radiologists. For appendicitis cases, the pediatric radiologists gave a "positive" interpretation in 26 (87%) of the cases, whereas the general radiologists gave a "positive" interpretation in 57 (89%) of the cases. Of the true positives, pediatric radiologists rated 25 (96%) of 26 as a high likelihood of appendicitis with a score of 1, whereas general radiologists rated 44 (77%) of 57 as high likelihood. In cases without appendicitis, the pediatric radiologists had a true negative interpretation rate of 83%, and the general radiologists had a true negative interpretation rate of 73%. Of the true negatives, pediatric radiologists rated 22 (88%) of 25 with a rating of 4, being "no appendicitis," whereas the general radiologists rated 39 (85%) of 46 with a rating of 4.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is a similar accuracy rate in the interpretation of CT scans positive for appendicitis between general and pediatric radiologists, but pediatric radiologists were more definitive.
authors.affiliation: Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women and Children, University of Hawai'i John A. Burns School of Medicine, Honolulu, HI, USA. wendy.matsuno@kapiolani.org
authors.forename: Wendy C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Matsuno
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Anaya
authors.forename: Ee Tein
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Tay
authors.forename: Nobuaki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Marr
authors.forename: Loren G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001064:Appendicitis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D011871:Radiology / Q000592:standards*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed