Right Lower Quadrant Ultrasound
Ultrasound Findings
Ultrasound findings of acute appendicitis include a blind-ending non-compressible fluid-filled structure with a wall thickness of 3 mm or greater and an outer diameter of 7 mm or more. There may be a circumferential color-flow identified around the appendix. There may also be free fluid noted in the right lower quadrant of the abdomen and the pelvis, and there may be echogenic mesentery. If appendiceal perforation has occurred, an ill-defined and/or fluid filled abscess may be identified. While 6mm is usually identified as the cut off between normal and abnormal appendix, in some instances, 5 mm is used as the upper limits of normal, while 7 mm are considered to be positive for acute appendicitis. Thus, in some instances a measurement between 5 and 7 mm is considered to be equivocal.
Other Etiologies of Right Lower Quadrant Pain
There are a number of other etiologies of right lower quadrant pain, including other bowel disease, disease of the mesentery or other processes involving the appendix including appendiceal tumors. In addition, organs that surround the appendix may be etiologies of right lower quadrant pain. This could include gynecological disease, gallbladder disease, renal disease, or disease of the retroperitoneal.