Graded compression sonography in acute appendicitis.

Acute appendicitis never was a radiologically established diagnosis. A study on sonography in acute appendicitis was published recently in which in 89% of cases the inflamed appendix could be demonstrated by ultrasound, utilising 5 and 7.5 MHz intraoperative linear array transducers. Our study was started to evaluate the possibilities of a standard 7.5 MHz sector transducer in detecting acute appendicitis. In our study sonography was correctly diagnosed in 72% of cases, but it became apparent that with the larger format transducer used in our study the retrocaecal appendix could not be demonstrated in the majority of cases. The reliability of sonography in detecting acute appendicitis is not high enough to be used on a large scale but sonography can play a role in doubtful cases of suspected acute appendicitis.