Effect of Computed Tomography of the Appendix on Treatment of Patients and Use of Hospital Resources

Each year in the United States there are at least 250,000 new cases of appendicitis, requiring hospital admission for more than 1 million patient-days. 1 A similar number of patients with suspected appendicitis are hospitalized but are found to have other conditions, such as mesenteric adenitis, pelvic inflammatory disease, or other gastrointestinal and gynecologic disorders. 2 The management options available to physicians evaluating patients with suspected appendicitis include hospital observation, diagnostic imaging, laparoscopy, and appendectomy. In at least 20 percent of patients with appendicitis, the correct diagnosis is not made. 3 – 6 Missed appendicitis is the most frequently successful malpractice claim against emergency . . .