CT bests ultrasound for diagnosing ER patients with abdominal pain

December 3, 2008 DiagnosticImaging.com. CT bests ultrasound for diagnosing ER patients with abdominal pain By Donna Domino The news was mixed for CT in the emergency department in research presented Wednesday at the RSNA meeting. CT was found to be better than ultrasound for diagnosing ER patients with abdominal pain, but radiation dose can be drastically reduced for patients suspected of appendicitis, according to authors of several studies. In a study comparing CT and ultrasound for diagnosing acute abdominal pain, CT scans provided greater sensitivity but more false-positive urgent diagnoses while ultrasound had more false negatives in 1021 patients who presented in the ER with acute abdominal pain and suspected appendicitis. Based on the findings, the investigators consider CT the modality of choice for detecting urgent disease, although the urgency may be overestimated.

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