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RACS ASC 2024

Utility of magnetic resonance imaging for diagnosing appendicitis in pregnancy

Poster

Poster

Disciplines

General Surgery

Presentation Description

Institution: Fiona Stanley Hospital - Western Australia, Australia

Purpose: Appendicitis is the most common non-obstetric surgical emergency in pregnant women, predominately occurring in the second trimester. Diagnosis is challenging due to the high prevalence of abdominal discomfort, anatomic changes related to the enlarged uterus, and the physiologic leucocytosis of pregnancy. The current diagnostic recommendation is an ultrasound followed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) if ultrasound is inconclusive. This audit aims to assess the diagnostic accuracy of MRI in this patient population, in addition to the timeframe of obtaining MRI in a tertiary centre. Methodology: A single-centre retrospective observational cohort study of pregnant women with clinical suspicion of appendicitis who underwent MRI over a five-year period. Imaging and histopathology reports, surgical notes, and demographic details were obtained from the patient’s electronic medical record. Results: 93 pregnant women underwent MRI for assessment of clinical appendicitis between 1 January 2018 to 1 January 2023. The median age of patients was 30 years old. 49.5% of patients were in their second trimester at the time of MRI. The average time from surgical review to MRI was 12 hours 37 minutes, from MRI to reporting was 1 hour 15 minutes, and from reporting to operative intervention was 8 hours 14 minutes. 18 patients had appendicitis, with MRI sensitivity 94.4% and specificity 98.1%. Conclusion: MRI demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of appendicitis in pregnant women. On average MRI was performed within 12 hours of clinical review and was reported within 75 minutes. Majority of patients with appendicitis were operated on within 8 hours of their diagnosis.

Speakers

Authors

Authors

Dr Aleasha Halden - , Dr Nikitha Boyapati - , Dr Matthew Trinder - , Dr Anand Trivedi -