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Thien Thanh Thi Nguyen

University Medical Center, Vietnam

Title: The role of magnetic resonance pulse sequences in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis in pregnant women

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess how well different magnetic resonance pulse sequences can diagnose acute appendicitis.
Methods: This retrospective study involved 179 pregnant females. All patients treated and admitted to the University Medical Center, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, between January 2016 and October 2023 had their MR scans and medical data examined. MRI results were assessed and compared with surgical and histopathological findings.
Results: The mean age of the population was 29.7 ± 4.8 years (range, 18-46 years). On T1-weighted (T1W) and T2-weighted (T2W) sequences, the appendix was clearly visualized at rates of 81.8% and 89.9%, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of the T2W in diagnosing AA were 93.5% and 92.3%, and when combined with T1W and diffusion-weighted (DW) images, the sensitivity and specificity further increased, being 96.8% and 94.9%, respectively. The predictive value of non-AA of the T1 bright appendix sign was 95.6%.
Conclusion: Our study supports the use of MRI as an imaging test to identify appendicitis during pregnancy, as it has been shown to be a useful method for diagnosing the condition in pregnant women. The T2W pulse sequence is a useful tool for diagnosing appendicitis because of its high sensitivity and specificity. When identifying appendicitis from T2W alone proves challenging, T1W with the T1 bright sign and DW to take advantage of the appendix lumen and/or wall's diffusion features can yield additional information and boost diagnostic confidence.

Biography

Thien Thanh Thi Nguyen has completed her PhD at the age of 42 years from Ho Chi Minh City Medicine and Pharmacy University, Vietnam. She is an expert in abdominopelvic imaging with over 15 years of experience. She has about 10 publications.