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MRI of acute appendicitis
Author(s) -
Mervak Benjamin M.,
Wilson Sarah B.,
Handly Brian D.,
Altun Ersan,
Burke Lauren M.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of magnetic resonance imaging
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.563
H-Index - 160
eISSN - 1522-2586
pISSN - 1053-1807
DOI - 10.1002/jmri.26709
Subject(s) - medicine , appendicitis , magnetic resonance imaging , radiology , acute appendicitis , modality (human–computer interaction) , medical diagnosis , acute abdominal pain , differential diagnosis , abdominal pain , ultrasound , general surgery , surgery , computer science , pathology , human–computer interaction
Appendicitis is the most common cause of acute abdominal pain resulting in surgery. While historically ultrasound (US) and computed tomography (CT) have been used to evaluate for appendicitis and its related complications, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has become a highly accurate and increasingly utilized modality in the last two decades, particularly in the pediatric and pregnant patient populations in whom ionizing radiation is used reluctantly. This article discusses the advantages and disadvantages of MRI as a modality to evaluate for acute appendicitis, summarizes studies of the diagnostic performance relative to CT and US, provides a standard MR protocol, and describes MRI findings typical of acute appendicitis, common complications, and other differential diagnoses. Level of Evidence: 2 Technical Efficacy Stage: 2 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2019;50:1367–1376.