MRI beneficial for Pregnant women with acute abdominal pain and positive physical examination: Study

USA: Ultrasound has limited value in pregnant women with acute abdominal pain and a positive physical examination (PE) and in such cases going straight to MRI may be warranted, says a recent study published in SAGE journal The American Surgeon. 

Abdominal pain is quite common among pregnant women; however, surgical pathology such as acute appendicitis as a cause of such pain is not. Ultrasound (US) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are diagnostic tests used in addition to history and physical examination. Alexa Marquez, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Ascension Genesys Hospital, Grand Blanc Township, MI, USA, and colleagues elected to find the role of these tests in pregnant patients who presented to our emergency department with acute abdominal pain.

For this purpose, the researchers conducted a retrospective analysis of 136 pregnant women with acute abdominal pain who presented to the emergency department (ED). PE, US, MRI, comorbid conditions, gestational age, and length of stay were reviewed. Institutional review board approval was obtained. The mean age was 26 and the mean gestational age was 24 weeks. Of those patients, there were 81 patients who had a US and MRI performed.