Patients with Appendicitis Effectively Identified Using Low-Dose CT

Patients with possible appendicitis are typically evaluated using a standard-dose contrast enhanced computed tomography (CT) scan, but a low-dose unenhanced CT that provides approximately 50% less radiation is just as effective.

These are the findings of a recent study performed at the Seoul National University College of Medicine (Seoul, Korea) The standard-dose enhanced CT scan delivers approximately 8.0 mSv of radiation; the low-dose unenhanced CT scan delivers approximately 4.2 mSv of radiation. A total of 78 patients with appendicitis were all evaluated using both the standard-dose and low-dose methods. CT images were then reviewed by two separate radiologists. The first radiologist was able to correctly identify appendicitis in 77/78 patients utilized the low-dose unenhanced method and in 78/78 using the standard-dose enhanced method. The second radiologist was able to correctly identify appendicitis in all 78 patients using both methods.

"Considering the high incidence of appendicitis in the general population and the rapidly increasing use of CT, small individual risks applied to such an increasingly large population may create a public health issue in the future,” said Kyoung Ho Lee, M.D., lead author of the study. "Low-dose unenhanced CT can potentially be used as the first line imaging test in patients suspected of having appendicitis.”

This study appears in the July 2009 issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.

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Seoul National University College of Medicine