Ultrasound Diagnoses Appendicitis Without X-Rays, Washington University School of Medicine Study

Children suspected of having appendicitis are more likely to receive CT scans, which involve radiation, if they are evaluated at a general hospital, a new study by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has shown. Similar patients who went to St. Louis Children's Hospital were more often evaluated with an ultrasound scan, a safer option that uses sound waves instead of radiation to confirm or rule out the need for surgery to remove the appendix.