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

Written By : Medha Baranwal |Medically Reviewed By : Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli Published On 2022-05-09T19:00:47+05:30 | Updated On 9 May 2022 7:01 PM IST

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.

Based on the study, the researchers reported the following:

The US was positive in 16 patients, while the MRI was positive in 25 patients. Three patients went for appendectomy.
The US sensitivity was 0% and specificity 79%. The positive predictive value for the US was 0% and the negative predictive value was 95%, which was less than 100%.
The MRI likelihood ratios were calculated for each test's clinical application and demonstrated that the US test result was indeterminate for ruling in and ruling out appendicitis while the MRI allowed for a high ability to rule out the disease.

The authors concluded, "Acute abdominal pain in pregnant women and a positive PE highly suggestive of surgical pathology, US had limited value and patients should proceed to MRI."

Reference:

Marquez A, Wasfie T, Korbitz H, Wong V, Pearson E, Holsinger H, Hella J, Barber K. Role of Abdominal Ultrasound and Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Pregnant Women Presenting With Acute Abdominal Pain. Am Surg. 2022 Apr 14:31348221087914. doi: 10.1177/00031348221087914. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35422127.

The American SurgeonMRIultrasoundpregnancyabdominal pain

Source : The American Surgeon

Medha Baranwal

MSc. Biotechnology

Medha Baranwal joined Medical Dialogues as an Editor in 2018 for Speciality Medical Dialogues. She covers several medical specialties including Cardiac Sciences, Dentistry, Diabetes and Endo, Diagnostics, ENT, Gastroenterology, Neurosciences, and Radiology. She has completed her Bachelors in Biomedical Sciences from DU and then pursued Masters in Biotechnology from Amity University. She has a working experience of 5 years in the field of medical research writing, scientific writing, content writing, and content management. She can be contacted at editorial@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751

Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli

Dr Kamal Kant Kohli-MBBS, DTCD- a chest specialist with more than 30 years of practice and a flair for writing clinical articles, Dr Kamal Kant Kohli joined Medical Dialogues as a Chief Editor of Medical News. Besides writing articles, as an editor, he proofreads and verifies all the medical content published on Medical Dialogues including those coming from journals, studies,medical conferences,guidelines etc. Email: drkohli@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751