Medical imaging is a standard for diagnosing appendicitis before surgically removing the inflamed appendix. But there are concerns that exposure to radiation increases cancer risk.
Researchers from Oxford University suggest in their study, titled "Diagnostic Accuracy Using Low-Dose Versus Standard Radiation Dose CT in Suspected Acute Appendicitis: Prospective Cohort Study," published in the British Journal of Surgery, that a low-dose CT scan can now diagnose appendicitis to decrease radiation exposure and reduce cancer risk.
3D medical animation still showing an inflammation of the appendix.
Safety and Efficacy Concerns in Using CT Scan to Diagnose Appendicitis
Doctors often order a CT scan of the abdomen of adult and teen patients complaining of appendicitis symptoms, like the pain sensation near their belly button, to decide whether an appendectomy is necessary or not, which is one of the most important commonly performed surgical procedures worldwide.
According to RadiologyInfo.org, appendicitis can happen when the appendix is inflamed due to a blockage or infection. Blockages can be the result of a stool, foreign body, or tumor.
However, it is not easy to diagnose appendicitis, and sometimes it leads to unnecessary surgeries. CT scans may offer an accurate diagnosis, but there are concerns about radiation exposure. Although there is no question on the safety of CT scans, doctors believe that reducing radiation as much as possible is also important, especially on young patients that are at most risk of radiation exposure.
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Low-Dose CT Scans Can Still Accurately Diagnose Appendicitis
According to Medical Express, the researchers looked at the data of a total of 998 patients who were sent to the emergency room due to suspected acute appendicitis. About 53% were subjected to low-dose CT scans, while the rest were subjected to standard-dose CT scans.
They found that both have accurately diagnosed patients in which low-dose CT scan was able to detect appendicitis 98% most of the time, and the standard-dose got a 98.5% accuracy. Meanwhile, in differentiating between complicated and uncomplicated acute appendicitis using different types of CT scans was 90.3% and 87.6%
The findings suggest no significant difference between the low-dose and standard-dose CT scans in accurately diagnosing appendicitis and severity. The results can help doctors decide which cases need surgery or which can be treated with antibiotics.
Moreover, study lead author Paulina Salminen said that this shows that low-dose CT scans can significantly reduce radiation exposure without impairing diagnostic accuracy. Researchers hope that their findings will encourage physicians to implement a low-dose CT scan in emergency departments for acute appendicitis to avoid unnecessary radiation.
Last April, MedicineNet reported a similar study that suggests that low-dose CT scans have similar accuracy in diagnosing appendicitis with standard-dose CT scans. It suggests that it might be time to use low-dose CT scans on patients aged 15-44 to reduce their risk of cancer from radiation exposure.
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