High-resolution sonography of acute appendicitis.

During a 7-month period high-resolution sonography was used in the evaluation of 68 patients with an equivocal clinical diagnosis of acute appendicitis. The sonographic findings were correlated with surgical-pathologic outcome in 32 cases and with clinical follow-up in the remainder. This technique was found to be accurate in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis with a specificity of 95%, a sensitivity of 80%, and an accuracy of 90%. The predictive value of a positive test was 91%; that of a negative test was 89%. The results show that high-resolution sonography is indicated to establish the diagnosis of acute appendicitis in patients with equivocal clinical findings.