• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.82 no.1
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• pp.182-193
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• 2021

Purpose To identify the features that can be used for differentiating appendicitis from non-appendicitis in pediatric patients with equivocal ultrasound (US) results. Materials and Methods A total of 53 pediatric patients (≤ 18 years old) with equivocal results on US examination for suspected appendicitis between November 2012 and October 2017 were included. US evaluation was conducted based on information retrieved from a predefined structured report form. Then, the likelihood of appendicitis was prospectively classified into five categories. The equivocal results were considered as grade 3 (indeterminate) and grade 4 (probably appendicitis). Results Of the 53 patients, 25 (47.2%) and 28 (52.8%) were classified into grade 3 and 4 groups, respectively. Among the individual US findings, increased vascularity of the appendiceal wall and peri-appendiceal fat infiltration were independent findings associated with the diagnosis of appendicitis (p = 0.005, p = 0.045, respectively) in the multivariate logistic regression analysis and showed the highest diagnostic accuracy (69.8% and 62.3%, respectively). Conclusion Increased vascularity within the appendiceal wall and peri-appendiceal fat infiltration were significant predictors of appendicitis in patients with equivocal US findings.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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• 2013.10a
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• pp.889-892
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• 2013

본 논문에서는 급성 복증을 주소로 야간 응급실 내원 시 영상의학과 전문의 부재 등과 관련된, 급성 충수 돌기염 진단을 위한 복부 초음파 검사의 환자 대기 시간과 충수 돌기 절제술 시행까지 환자 대기 시간을 분석한다. 응급실 내원 환자 41.5%에서 초음파 검사 대기 시간은 10시간 이상으로 나타났고, 외래 내원 환자의 45.2%는 수술 대기 시간이 18시간 이상으로 나왔다. 이는 초음파 검사의 대기 시간이 수술 대기 시간에 영향을 미치는 것으로 카이제곱검증에서 유의하게 나왔다(p<0.05). 따라서 본 논문에서는 환자들의 대기 시간을 감소시키기 위한 방법으로 응급실 의료진의 초음파 검사 시행에 따른 유익성과 급성 충수 돌기염의 특징을 이용한 의료 영상 분석, 연구의 필요성을 제안한다.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2004

Purpose: Alvarado scoring system was evaluated regarding its usefulness for the early diagnosis of acute appendicitis in adult and in reduction of the incidence of negative appendicectomies. To evaluate the accuracy of diagnosing appendicitis using the Alvarado score in children. Methods: Prospectively, we surveyed 122 patients (male 67, female 55) suffering from abdominal pain, who had visited to the emergency department of Chosun University Hospital from June 2002 to May 2003. The Alvarado score has been computed from the white blood cell count, neutrophil count, body temperature, resistance in the right lower quadrant, length of symptoms, nausea and vomiting. Each patient was evaluated by a pediatric resident and then by a general surgeon independently. Results: Out of 170 total children who visited to the emergency department due to abdominal pain, 122 patients were associated with appendicitis. A total of 122 patients (67 male and 55 female) were visited to the emergency room with suspected appendicitis. From 105 operated patients, 92 (87.6%) were diagnosed acute appendicitis and erronous diagnostic rate was 12.4%, pathologically. Mean alvarado score of appendicitis group was $5.40{\pm}1.24$ whereas those of non-appendicitis group was $3.73{\pm}1.82$ (p<0.05). From 6 Alvarado score high sensitivity (86.4%) and high specificity (80.0%) were observed. Sensitivity of ultrasonography or computed tomography was 92.5%. Conclusion: We found that Alvarado score system is a noninvasive, safe diagnostic method, which is simple, reliable and repeatable. Alvarado score is useful system for a first, rapid and economic evaluation for the appendicitis in children.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.158-165
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• 2002

Purpose: We designed this retrospective study to establish the incidence of diagnosic delay in children diagnosed with acute appendicitis and to identify associated factors with delayed diagnosis and its impact on the clinical course. Methods: All cases of children under 15 years of age who underwent appendectomy from 1996 to 2001 at Gangneung Asan Hospital were reviewed. We reviewed signs and symptoms, type of health professional first contacted, the advice given by the health professional and a history of appendicitis in first degree relatives. Diagnostic period is the time elapsed between first complaints and definitive diagnosis. Delay was defined as diagnostic period exceeded the 48 hours. Postoperative course and complications were also reviewed. Results: Incidence of diagnostic delay differed by whether diarrhea and fecalith on X-ray were present. Also children whose parents were advised to observe them at home were more likely to have a diagnostic delay. In almost half of the cases in delayed group, initial diagnosis was not acute appendicitis but gastroenteritis. The perforation rate in non-delayed group was 22%, whereas 87% in delayed group. The delayed group showed a higher number of postoperative complication and a longer hospitalization period. Conclusions: Diarrhea with abdominal pain and fever in children should not be dismissed as gastroenteritis, respiratory infections or other common disorders. Our study suggests that physicians have a responsibility to prevent diagnostic delay and resultant perforation of acute appendicitis in children by having a high index of suspicion about acute appendicitis.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.1424-1432
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• 2009

For the efficient management of hospital sickbeds, it is important to predict the length of stay (LoS) of appendicitis patients. This study analyzed the patient data to find factors that show high positive correlation with LoS, build LoS prediction models using neural network and decision tree models, and compare their performance. In order to increase the prediction accuracy, we applied the ensemble techniques such as bagging and boosting. Experimental results show that decision tree model which was built with less number of variables shows prediction accuracy almost equal to that of neural network model, and that bagging is better than boosting. In conclusion, since the decision tree model which provides better explanation than neural network model can well predict the LoS of appendicitis patients and can also be used to select the input variables, it is recommended that hospitals make use of the decision tree techniques more actively.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.81 no.4
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• pp.794-805
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• 2020

Acute abdomen is a condition with sudden abdominal pain that may require immediate surgical treatment. The causes of acute abdomen in pediatric patients are diverse, and can be categorized in broad range from diseases requiring surgery to diseases requiring medication or clinical observation only. The role of the imaging study in children with acute abdomen is to distinguish between patients who need medication and patients who need surgery by identifying diseases that cause abdominal pain, if possible. Since intussusception and appendicitis are the leading causes of acute abdomen requiring surgical treatment in children, it is important to exclude intussusception in young infants complaining of acute abdominal pain and exclude acute appendicitis in older children with acute abdomen. In this paper, we introduce intussusception, acute appendicitis, midgut volvulus, Meckel's diverticulum and duplication cyst, which has characteristic imaging finding of the disease that can cause acute abdomen in pediatric patients.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.193-198
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• 2010

A diverticulum is a blind pouch communicating with the gut. The term "diverticulitis" indicates inflammation of a diverticulum or diverticula, which is commonly accompanied by gross or microscopic perforation. Acute diverticuitis is a rare disorder in early childhood. Itis difficult to diagnose acute right colon diverticulitis from common causes of RLQ pain. We report a case of acute diverticulitis in the right colon in a 6-year-old girl. She complained of typical RLQ pain mimicking acute appendicitis,but was diagnosed with acute diverticulitis by CT scanning. Conservative treatment failed because of peritonitis due to perforation of an inflamed diverticulum. After the diverticulcetomy, the symptoms resolved.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.82 no.3
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• pp.708-714
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• 2021

Intussusception and acute appendicitis are common emergency conditions in children. They should be promptly differentiated in pediatric patients presenting with suggestive symptoms. However, both diseases may occur simultaneously. Herein, we present two cases of intussusception of the appendix accompanied with appendicitis.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.97-103
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• 2023

Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute, systemic inflammatory disorder that often targets coronary arteries. Being the common cause of acquired heart disease in children, timely diagnosis and intravenous immunoglobulin treatment are crucial. However, it is challenging for physicians to diagnose KD if it presents with atypical manifestations. We report the case of a 5-year-old boy who initially presented with appendicitis; after an appendectomy, he had a prolonged fever. He was finally diagnosed with atypical KD and successfully recovered after intravenous immunoglobulin treatment. Through a literature review, we found 21 cases of appendicitis associated with KD. In most cases, the patients were male with a mean age of 5.3 years. Most had higher proportions of incomplete KD and coronary artery complications than expected for typical KD. In conclusion, appendicitis could be a rare complication of KD; therefore, multidisciplinary cooperation and early recognition of atypical KD are essential for timely diagnosis.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.46 no.11
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• pp.1095-1100
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• 2003

Purpose : Children with acute colonic diverticulitis(ACD), can be misdiagnosed with acute appendicitis. Methods : We reviewed 15 cases of ACD during five years, from January 1998 to June 2002 retrospectively. Results : Most patients(80%) with ACD in children presented with right lower quadrant pain. The primary diagnosis on admission was mostly acute appendicitis(87%), and all ACD in children occurred in the right colon. Fourteen patients were managed by conservative treatment including antibiotics. A follow-up study was performed in 15 patients. There were symptomatic recurrences in two patients, but no significant complication was noted. The frequency of ACD was 11.7 per 1000 acute appendicitis. Conclusion : ACD in children can mostly be cured by conservative treatment. It is prudent to choose the management through the diagnostic work up, including abdominal sonography and computed tomography, because there was no significant difference of clinical findings between ACD and acute appendicitis.