The aim of the present study was to establish the diagnostic value of abdominal ultrasonography in the diagnosis of appendicitis using 5--10 MHz multifrequency transducers. A transversal study of 240 consecutive patients examined from April 1996 to September 1998 due to suspected acute appendicitis was conducted. The ultrasonography criteria for acute appendicitis were noncompressible appendix with thickness above 6.0 mm, with or without apendicolith and/or collection. The adopted gold standard were surgical findings and clinical follow-up during one year. The prevalence of appendicitis was 59%. Abdominal ultrasound showed: sensitivity = 90%, specificity = 97%, accuracy = 93%, predictive positive value = 98%, predictive negative value = 87%, false positive = 2% and false negative = 13%. Ultrasonography using 5--10 MHz multifrequency transducers showed to be a very effective imaging diagnosis method for acute appendicitis.

Keywords: Appendicitis, Appendix ultrasonography, 5--10 MHz transducer, Ultrasonography