Multimodality approach for imaging of non-traumatic acute abdominal emergencies

Appendicitis in pregnant women: A systematic review and meta-analysis of the diagnostic performance of ultrasonography

OBJECTIVES

The accuracy of ultrasound in the detection of appendicitis in pregnant women was examined in a meta-analysis.

METHODS

Pregnant women with suspected acute appendicitis were evaluated using ultrasound in a systematic search of PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases from January 1, 2011 to August 10, 2023. The sensitivity and specificity values and diagnostic odds ratios were obtained using the pooled data.

RESULTS

A total of 239 patients were studied in four relevant investigations. Ultrasonography has a sensitivity of 56% and a specificity of 88% for the diagnosis of acute appendicitis, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.66%. Ultrasonography had a positive likelihood ratio of 4.65 (95% confidence interval, 1.42-15.23) and a negative likelihood ratio of 0.50 (95% confidence interval, 0.41-0.62). There was no evidence of publication bias (p = 0.93).

CONCLUSIONS

Ultrasound has moderate sensitivity for identifying appendicitis in pregnant women and may be utilized as an alternative diagnostic method.

Disección espontánea del tronco celíaco. Una emergencia vascular inusual

Introducción. La disección espontánea del tronco o arteria celíaca es una emergencia vascular abdominal inusual, con una incidencia desconocida. Actualmente no existen guías o consensos para su tratamiento, el cual va desde intervenciones vasculares mayores hasta la conducta expectante. Caso clínico. Paciente masculino de 42 años sin antecedentes patológicos, con dolor abdominal intenso de un mes de evolución. Ante la sospecha clínica de patología inflamatoria se realizó una tomografía computarizada abdominal con medio de contraste, en la que se observó una disección del tronco celíaco asociada a un infarto esplénico. Se realizó manejo endovascular de forma exitosa. Discusión. La disección espontánea del tronco celíaco es una patología infrecuente, que puede presentarse en pacientes con hipertensión arterial, tabaquismo, enfermedad ateroesclerótica y vasculitis. Los síntomas más comunes son el dolor abdominal asociado a náuseas y vómito. La sospecha clínica debe ser confirmada mediante estudios imagenológicos que orienten al tratamiento conservador, endovascular o quirúrgico, ante la sospecha de infarto intestinal o ruptura arterial. Conclusiones. La disección espontánea del tronco celíaco es una patología vascular inusual que puede relacionarse con una alta mortalidad. Es importante tener siempre presente la interrelación entre la anatomía vascular abdominal, la anamnesis y el examen físico como elementos claves para realizar este diagnóstico.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging for the diagnosis and management of acute colonic diverticulitis: a review of current and future use

Diverticular disease is one of the most common causes of outpatient visits and hospitalisations across Australia, North America and Europe. According to the Gastroenterological Society of Australia (GESA, 2010), approximately 33% of Australians over 45 years of age and 66% over 85 years of age have some form of colonic diverticulosis. Patients with colonic diverticulosis are known to develop subsequent complications such as acute colonic diverticulitis (ACD), and when more than one attack of diverticulitis occurs, there is a 70-90% chance that the individual will experience ongoing problems and recurring infections throughout their lifetime. Medical imaging is fundamental in the diagnosis, treatment and ongoing management of ACD and its complications, with Computed Tomography (CT) identified as the prevailing gold standard in the last few decades. Cross-database searching highlighted a large gap in the literature regarding the effectiveness of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) as a non-ionising radiation alternative imaging tool for ACD imaging after the mid-2000s, despite ongoing technological advancements in this modality. This narrative review identified 13 key publications (11 primary prospective cohort studies, 1 systematic review and 1 meta-analysis) that evaluate MRI for ACD imaging, of which five were published within the last decade. Several existing MRI protocols are deemed suitable for ACD imaging, and it is recommended they be re-evaluated in larger cohorts. Future studies should consider the rapidly growing technological improvements of MRI, its cost efficiency and its applicability in modern day healthcare settings when addressing ACD management. This is especially important considering the gradual rise in radiation dose among the Australian population attributable to increased CT referrals, alongside increased reporting of ACD cases in younger individuals.

Many faces of acute bowel ischemia: overview of radiologic staging

Acute bowel ischemia (ABI) can be life threatening with high mortality rate. In spite of the advances made in diagnosis and treatment of ABI, no significant change has occurred in the mortality over the past decade. ABI is potentially reversible with prompt diagnosis. The radiologist plays a central role in the initial diagnosis and preventing progression to irreversible intestinal ischemic injury or bowel necrosis. The most single imaging findings described in the literature are either non-specific or only present in the late stages of ABI, urging the use of a constellation of features to reach a more confident diagnosis. While ABI has been traditionally categorized based on the etiology with a wide spectrum of imaging findings overlapped with each other, the final decision for patient’s management is usually made on the stage of the ABI with respect to the underlying pathophysiology. In this review, we first discuss the pathologic stages of ischemia and then summarize the various imaging signs and causes of ABI. We also emphasize on the correlation of imaging findings and pathological staging of the disease. Finally, a management approach is proposed using combined clinical and radiological findings to determine whether the patient may benefit from surgery or not.

Diagnostic imaging for acute abdominal pain in an Emergency Department in Italy

Imaging plays a key role in the diagnostic work-up of patients with non-traumatic acute abdominal pain (AAP) in emergency department (ED). We aimed to evaluate the use and diagnostic performance of imaging techniques in adult patients with AAP in an ED in Italy. Patients with non-traumatic AAP admitted at the ED of S. Orsola-Malpighi University Hospital of Bologna (Italy) from the 1st to the 30th November 2016 were included. Demographic and clinical data, data on radiological procedures and discharge diagnosis were collected. Sensitivity and specificity for detecting acute diseases were assessed using the discharge diagnosis from the ED as reference standard. Of the 578 patients (female 52.8%, mean age 51.3 years) admitted to the ED for AAP, 433 (74.9%) underwent abdominal imaging. The most frequent techniques used were abdominal plain radiography and ultrasonography (US), performed in 38.4% and 37.9% of patients, respectively, followed by computed tomography (CT) in 28% of patients. Plain radiography yielded a sensitivity of 28% and specificity of 91.1%; the sensitivity increased to 79.4% in patients with small bowel obstruction. Ultrasonography's sensitivity and specificity were 61.8% and 98.4%, respectively; the sensitivity of US reached 85.2% and 90% in patients with acute cholecystitis/biliary colic and urolithiasis, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of CT were 87.8% and 92.9%, respectively. Plain radiography is still overused in the diagnostic work-up of AAP in ED in Italy, despite its unsatisfactory sensitivity. Ultrasonography and CT has a higher sensitivity and should be used as first-level imaging in most patients.

The evaluation of compliance with iRefer guidelines for abdominal imaging and the impact of the normal abdominal radiograph on the clinical confidence and decision making of emergency clinicians

INTRODUCTION

Attendance of adult patients to the Emergency Department (ED) with acute abdominal pain is a frequent event. Abdominal X-ray imaging (AXR) is commonly the first line of investigation but previous studies have suggested that the AXR has no place in assessing acute abdominal pain because of its low diagnostic yield and limited contribution to direct clinical decision making. However, no evaluation of the impact of a negative AXR on the clinical confidence and decision making of emergency clinicians has been undertaken. This study aims to fill this gap.

METHOD

A self-designed paper questionnaire was distributed to medical clinicians on ED placement at a single NHS trust in the South of England. The survey sought to explore the impact of the negative AXR on clinical confidence and decision making and compliance with iRefer guidelines for referring to alternative imaging modalities (ultrasound and computed tomography) should the option to refer for AXR be restricted.

RESULTS

A total of 28 (n = 28/41; 68.3%) completed questionnaires were returned. Most clinicians (n = 18/28; 64.3%) indicated that negative AXR had little impact on their clinical decision making although a small majority (n = 10/18; 55.6%) acknowledged it provided greater clinical confidence in their decision making. Variable compliance with iRefer guidelines for referral to ultrasound and computed tomography was noted.

CONCLUSION

Whilst the negative AXR did not impact on the clinical decision making of most ED clinicians, it did increase clinical confidence. Consequently, the AXR should remain a referral option in the workup for adult patients presenting with acute abdominal pain to the emergency department.

Opioid analgesic use among patients presenting with acute abdominal pain and factors associated with surgical diagnoses

BACKGROUND

The prevalence of chronic opioid use among non-cancer patients presenting with acute abdominal pain (AAP) is unknown. The aim was to characterize opioid use, constipation, diagnoses, and risk factors for surgical diagnoses among non-cancer patients presenting with AAP to an emergency department (ED).

METHODS

We performed a retrospective, observational cohort study of all (n=16,121) adult patients (88% from MN, IA and WI) presenting during 2014 with AAP. We used electronic medical records, and focused on 2352 adults with AAP who underwent abdominal CT scan within 24 hours of presentation. We determined odds ratios of association with constipation and features predicting conditions that may require surgery (surgical diagnosis).

KEY RESULTS

There were 2352 eligible patients; 18.8% were opioid users. Constipation was more frequent in opioid (35.1%) compared to non-opioid users [OR 2.88 (95% CI 2.28, 3.62)]. Prevalence of surgical diagnosis in the opioid and non-opioid users was 35.3% and 41.7% respectively (P=.019). By univariate analysis, age and neutrophil count independently predicted increased risk, and chronic opioid use decreased risk of surgical diagnosis. Internal validation of logistic models using a randomly selected validation subset (25% of entire cohort, 587/2352) showed receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves for the validation and full cohorts were similar.

CONCLUSIONS AND INFERENCES

Approximately 19% of adults presenting with AAP were opioid users; constipation is almost three times as likely in opioid users compared to non-opioid users presenting with AAP. Factors significantly associated with altered risk of surgical diagnoses were age, opioid use, and neutrophil count.