Correlating Abdominal Wall Thickness and Body Mass Index to Predict Usefulness of Right Lower Quadrant Ultrasound for Evaluation of Pediatric Appendicitis

Conclusions While the BMI cutoff standard of less than 25 kg/m2 for usefulness of appendix US holds in the adult population, our data expand the acceptable range in children younger than 9 years regardless of BMI and male children with BMI up to 30 kg/m2. Female children younger than 15 years with a BMI up to 30 kg/m2 may also be amenable to right lower quadrant US based on AWT. These parameters inform selective and efficient use of US for appendix evaluation.
Source: Pediatric Emergency Care - Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research