Sonography of Abdominal Pain in Children: Appendicitis and Its Common Mimics

Thomas Ray Sanchez; Michael T Corwin; Andrew Davoodian; Rebecca Stein-Wexler

doi:10.7863/ultra.15.04047

Sonography of Abdominal Pain in Children: Appendicitis and Its Common Mimics

J Ultrasound Med. 2016 Mar;35(3):627-35. doi: 10.7863/ultra.15.04047. Epub 2016 Feb 18.

Authors

Thomas Ray Sanchez¹, Michael T Corwin², Andrew Davoodian², Rebecca Stein-Wexler²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Radiology, University of California, Davis Medical Center Children's Hospital, Sacramento California USA (T.R.S., R.S.-W.); Department of Radiology, University of California, Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, California USA (M.T.C., R.S.-W.); and University of California, Davis, Sacramento, California USA (A.D.) trsanchez@ucdavis.edu.
² Department of Radiology, University of California, Davis Medical Center Children's Hospital, Sacramento California USA (T.R.S., R.S.-W.); Department of Radiology, University of California, Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, California USA (M.T.C., R.S.-W.); and University of California, Davis, Sacramento, California USA (A.D.).

PMID: 26892821
DOI: 10.7863/ultra.15.04047

Abstract

Abdominal pain is very common in the pediatric population (<18 years of age). Sonography is a safe modality that can often differentiate the frequently encountered causes of abdominal pain in children. This pictorial essay will discuss the sonographic findings of acute appendicitis, including the imaging appearance of a perforated appendicitis. It will also present the sonographic features of the relatively common mimics of appendicitis, such as mesenteric adenitis/gastroenteritis, intussusception, Meckel diverticulum, and ovarian torsion.

Keywords: abdominal pain; appendicitis; mimics; pediatric ultrasound; sonography.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Abdominal Pain / diagnostic imaging*
Abdominal Pain / etiology
Adolescent
Appendicitis / complications
Appendicitis / diagnostic imaging*
Child
Child, Preschool
Diagnosis, Differential
Enteritis / complications
Enteritis / diagnostic imaging*
Female
Humans
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Intussusception / complications
Intussusception / diagnostic imaging*
Male
Meckel Diverticulum / complications
Meckel Diverticulum / diagnostic imaging
Mesenteric Lymphadenitis / complications
Mesenteric Lymphadenitis / diagnostic imaging*
Observer Variation
Ovarian Diseases / complications
Ovarian Diseases / diagnostic imaging
Reproducibility of Results
Sensitivity and Specificity
Torsion Abnormality / complications
Torsion Abnormality / diagnostic imaging
Ultrasonography / methods*