Tahir Malik, Zafar Amin.
Ultrasonography; diagnostic role of in acute abdomen (nongynaecological Causes).
Professional Med J Jan ;15(1):26-32.

Objectives. (1) To determine the role of ultrasonography as the primary imaging modality in patients of acute abdomen. (2) To evaluate the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value of ultrasonography in acute abdomen. Design: A hospital based descriptive study. Setting: In Combined Military Hospital Lahore which is a tertiary care hospital. Period: From 1st` Jan 2003 to 30 Dec 2003. Subjects: A total of 100 consecutive patients of acute abdomen were selected for the study. There were 61 male patients and 39 female patients. The patients` age ranged from 02 years to 70 years. Ultrasonography was done using ALOKA SSD-5500 machine with high resolution probes. Results: During my study of patients of acute abdomen most common conditions encountered were renal colic due to renal and ureteric stones followed by gut perforation, cholecystitis, appendicitis and cholelithiasis. My study revealed a sensitivity of 79,7% and specificity of 88.4% of ultrasonography in patients with acute abdomen . The positive predictive value was 95.1% and a negative predictive value was 60.5%. Conclusion: Ultrasonography helped in prompt decision making in most of the cases of acute abdomen with a high sensitivity and specificity in skilled and experienced hands, as well as high positive predictive value. Hence, in our setup it can be used as a primary imaging modality for patients presenting with acute abdomen in any age group, as it is readily available, cost effective and free of any radiation hazards. Ultrasonography not only helps in diagnosing the cause of pain but also ruling out other possibilities.

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