Ultrasound and white blood cell counts in suspected acute appendicitis / Ultrasonido y conteo de glóbulos blancos en casos de sospecha de apendicitis aguda

The use of radiological studies as diagnostic tools in patients with suspected acute appendicitis has increased recently. In this setting, abdominal ultrasonography is viewed as a possible means of avoiding unnecessary surgery. This retrospective study of patients who underwent laparotomy for suspected acute appendicitis was undertaken to determine the sensitivity and specificity of ultrasound in diagnosing acute appendicitis and the frequency of leucocytosis in patients in whom the diagnosis was confirmed by histology. The ultrasound and surgery registers were reviewed to identify 254 referrals for abdominal ultrasound between January 2001 and December 2002 because of a clinical suspicion of acute appendicitis. Of these cases, 223 did not proceed to surgery. The study sample comprised 31 patients who had appendectomies after abdominal ultrasonography. The ultrasound reports, pathological diagnoses and white blood cell counts of these patients were obtained and formed the basis for the analysis. A histological diagnosis was available for 30 cases, in 17 of whom appendicitis was confirmed In these patients, positive ultrasound and leucocytosis were present in five (29) and nine (53) respectively. Ultrasound showed 92specificity and 29sensitivity for the pre-operative diagnosis of appendicitis. The positive predictive value of ultrasonography (83) was higher than that of leucocytosis (69). The sensitivity and specificity of ultrasound and leucocytosis in this study indicate limited utility as preoperative diagnostic tools.

El uso de estudios radiológicos como herramientas de diagnóstico en los pacientes con sospecha de apendicitis aguda ha aumentado recientemente. En este escenario, la ultrasonografía abdominal se ve como un posible medio de evitar una cirugía innecesaria. Este estudio retrospectivo de pacientes sometidos a laparotomía por sospecha de apendicitis aguda, fue realizado a fin de determinar la sensibilidad y especificidad del ultrasonido a la hora de diagnosticar la apendicitis aguda así como la frecuencia de leucocitos, en pacientes en quienes el diagnóstico fue confirmado mediante histología. Se revisaron las historias de ultrasonido y cirugía con el propósito de identificar 254 remisiones para la realización de ultrasonido abdominal entre enero de 2001 y diciembre de 2002, debido a una sospecha clínica de apendicitis aguda. De estos casos, 223 no pasaron a cirugía. La muestra del estudio abarcó 31 pacientes a los que se les realizaron apendicectomías tras del ultrasonido abdominal. Se obtuvieron los reportes de los ultrasonidos, los diagnósticos patológicos y los conteos de glóbulos blancos de estos pacientes. Estos reportes constituyeron la base del análisis. Se tuvo a disposición un diagnóstico histológico en 30 casos, en 17 de los cuales se confirmó apendicitis. En estos pacientes, el ultrasonido resultó positivo en cinco casos (29%) y la leucocitosis estuvo presente en nueve (53%). El ultrasonido arrojó un 92% de especificidad y 29% de sensibilidad para el diagnóstico preoperativo de la apendicitis. El valor predictivo positivo de la ultrasonografía (83%) fue mayor que el de la leucocitosis (69%). En este estudio, la sensibilidad y especificidad del ultrasonido y la leucocitosis, indican una limitada utilidad tanto del ultrasonido como del conteo de glóbulos blancos como instrumentos preoperativos de diagnóstico.

Disseminated donovanosis (granuloma inguinale) with osteomyelitis of both wrists

Donovanosis is a sexually transmitted infection which presents with genital ulceration and inguinal lymphadenopathy. Rarely, it presents with extra-genital manifestations. We present a case of disseminated donovanosis with cervical ulceration, massive pelvic lymphadenopathy, osteomyelitis of the wrists and septic arthritis of the knees and right elbow. A 23-year-old gravida two presented with wasting, oedema, ascites, bilateral iliac lymphadenopathy, anaemia and a large ulcer of the cervix uteri. Two months later in the outpatient clinic, she was much improved but still had post-coital bleeding and a hyperaemic cervix, suggestive of persistent infection. The course of antibiotics was therefore repeated. Histopathological examination of a specimen from colposcopic biopsy of the cervix uteri revealed granuloma inguinale. She improved after several courses of antibiotics, blood transfusion, surgical dÚbridement and aspiration of affected joints.

Ultrasonography of the lower limbs for deep vein thrombosis at the University Hospital of the West Indies. A five-year analysis

A study was conducted on all patients referred to the ultrasound service of the radiology department of the University Hospital of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica, for evaluation of a clinical diagnosis of thrombosis of the deep veins of the lower limb, during the period January 1, 1995, to December 31, 1999. The calf veins were not routinely examined; this study was limited to the popliteal, superficial and deep femoral veins. Two hundred and seventy-four females and 104 males were referred. Seventy females and 32 males had ultrasound findings of deep vein thrombosis (DVT). The significant findings were that the male:female ratio for confirmed DVT was approximately 1:2; 26 of referrals had DVT on ultrasound; DVT was more common on the left and the popliteal vein (48) and the superficial femoral vein (47) accounted for most documented cases of DVT but thrombosis of the profunda femoral vein was unusual accounting for only 5 of cases.