title: Diagnostic performance of diffusion-weighted MR imaging in detecting acute appendicitis in children: comparison with conventional MRI and surgical findings.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the value of diffusion-weighted MRI for the diagnosis of acute appendicitis in children.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-five consecutive patients with a clinical diagnosis of acute appendicitis underwent abdominal MRI; 39 were operated on for acute appendicitis. First, the diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) alone was reviewed, followed by conventional MRI alone, and then conventional MRI and DWI were reviewed by two observers within a consensus. The surgical findings were compared with the MRI. Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were calculated for DWI, conventional MRI, and combined DWI and conventional MRI for the depiction of acute appendicitis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A combination of DWI and conventional MRI was the most sensitive and the most accurate, with corresponding sensitivity and accuracy of 0.92 and 0.92, respectively. Using DWI alone the sensitivity and accuracy was found to be 0.78 and 0.77, respectively. Using conventional MRI alone, sensitivity of 0.81 and accuracy of 0.82 was found for the consensus of the two observers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The use of combination of DWI and conventional MRI is a valuable technique in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis in children.
authors.affiliation: Ataturk University, School of Medicine, Department of Radiology, Erzurum, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ümmugulsum
authors.initials: Ü
authors.lastname: Bayraktutan
authors.forename: Akgün
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Oral
authors.forename: Mecit
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kantarci
authors.forename: Muhammet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Demir
authors.forename: Hayri
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ogul
authors.forename: Ahmet
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yalcin
authors.forename: Idris
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kaya
authors.forename: Ahmet Bedii
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Salman
authors.forename: Murat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yiğiter
authors.forename: Adnan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Okur
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D001064:Appendicitis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery*; D001065:Appendix / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D015588:Observer Variation; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
keywords: MRI; acute appendicitis; diffusion-weighted imaging