What are sonographic findings of acute appendicitis?
Helpful sonographic findings in diagnosing acute appendicitis include a blind-ending, noncompressible, fiuid-filled tubular structure with a diameter >6 mm (Table 4; Figure 8). In addition, whenever even small amounts of free fiuid are noted in the RLQ, this should raise the suspicion of a possible pathologic process, including appendicitis. Free fiuid and increased mesenteric echogenicity may occur later in the course of appendicitis. The increased echogenicity of the mesentery can be easily overlooked. This is similar to the mesenteric stranding identified on CT. Finally, increased color fiow may be seen in the wall of the appendix (Figure 9). However, this finding is lost with gangrenous appendicitis.
