Value of Contrast Enhanced MDCT in Distinguishing Complicated from Non-Complicated Acute Appendicitis

Accurate and timely diagnosis of pre-operative acute appendicitis significantly diminishes morbidity and mortality of the disease [1-3] . Delay in the diagnosis increases the danger of complicated appendicitis, postoperative complications and the medical cost [4] . On the other hand, misdiagnosis of assumed appendicitis lead to unneeded surgeries, major affection of patient's daily life and significant waste of hospital finances in addition to the esteemed postoperative complications [5] . The reported rates of unneeded appendectomies are variable where they reach up to 20% in surgical literature. The presence of other abdominal pathological conditions with similar clinical presentation increases the difficulty in diagnosis of appendicitis and increases the rate of unneeded surgical appendectomies or laparotomies [1,6-8] .