Pediatric appendiceal ultrasound: maintaining accuracy, increasing determinacy and improving clinical outcomes following the introduction of a standardized reporting template

Background Pediatric patients who underwent appendiceal US and received an equivocal interpretation had poorer clinical outcomes and higher medical costs compared to those to whom a definitive interpretation was given, either positive or negative. In an effort to reduce equivocal interpretations, we educated our group on the importance of increasing determinacy and encouraged the use of a reporting template with a definitive impression. Objective We hypothesized that educational sessions and implementation of an optional reporting template with only a definitive impression would reduce equivocal reporting and improve clinical outcomes without negatively impacting US diagnostic performance. Materials and methods We retrospectively reviewed the charts of all patients