Outcomes for Children with Non-diagnostic Ultrasounds in the Evaluation for Suspected Appendicitis

Background: Acute appendicitis remains the most common surgical emergency in children. Ultrasonography has become the initial imaging modality for suspected appendicitis in most Pediatric Emergency Departments (PED) in the United States. While having multiple advantages, oftentimes the initial ultrasound is “equivocal” or the appendix is “not visualized.” Without a definitive read, the physician will then often utilize other resources such as a computerized tomography (CT) scan, surgical consult, or hospital admission. However, it is not known what proportion of these children with non-diagnostic ultrasounds are ultimately diagnosed with acute …