Abstract
Background: Acute appendicitis is considered as one of the most common causes of abdominal emergencies. In pregnant women, appendicitis mostly occur in the second trimester. During pregnancy and as a result of uterus enlargement there will be alteration in maternal body habitus and organ displacement which makes the clinical evaluation of pregnant patient's challenging. Reviewing the recent publications regarding appendicitis diagnosis and evaluation in pregnant women is important in order to provide better outcomes for the patients.
Objective: In this study, we aimed at evaluating the role of MRI in diagnosis of appendicitis during pregnancy and provide a paper that summarize the recent publication.
Methods: PubMed database were used for articles selection. All relevant articles related to our review were chosen to cover the following topics: MRI, Evaluation of Appendicitis during Pregnancy, and Diagnosis. We excluded other articles, which are not related to our objectives.
Conclusion: Appendicitis is the most common indication for non-gynecologic surgery during pregnancy. Yet, the clinical diagnosis of appendicitis in pregnancy is often delayed. Imaging studies play a major role in diagnosing suspected appendicitis in the general population, as well as in pregnancy. Multiple studies demonstrated that MRI has high sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of acute appendicitis during pregnancy. MRI is suggested to be first-line modality in centers that provide 24-h MRI coverage because of its efficacy and its advantage over ultrasound performance in diagnosing acute appendicitis in pregnant women.