Impact of abdominal CT imaging on the management of XXXX : an update.

@entity1 @entity698
BACKGROUND: Abdominal computed tomographic scanning (ACTS) has recently been shown to be an accurate diagnostic tool for @entity698 and may improve the negative exploration rate in our @entity1 population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We reviewed 224 @entity1 evaluated for @entity698 during 1998. Forty-two @entity1 underwent appendectomy on clinical grounds alone (Group I), 182 @entity1 underwent ACTS (Group II), and 79 @entity1 in Group II were explored for @entity698 . Diagnostic errors, alternative diagnoses, and perforation rates were noted. RESULTS: There were five negative explorations in Group I (11.9%) and five in Group II (6.3%), resulting in a combined negative rate of 8.3%. The negative exploration rate in @entity1 was 23.5% in Group I and 5.3% in Group II (P = 0.07), producing a combined negative rate of 10.9%. Fifty-eight alternative diagnoses were made by ACTS. The ACTS made a critical difference in the management of 67% of @entity1 over 50 years of age and in 79% of Group II @entity1 . CONCLUSIONS: The negative exploration rate for @entity698 at our institution fell from 13.6 to 8.3% with selective use of ACTS. The most striking benefit occurred in @entity1 and in @entity1 over 50 years of age.
