- Non-compressibility of the appendix (unless perforated)
- Blind ended pouch
- Diameter of the appendix > 6 mm
- Single wall thickness ≥ 3 mm
- Target sign
- Hyperechoic appendicolith with posterior shadowing



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This is our preferred method when you strongly suspect appendicitis based on your patient’s history and physical exam.
If you prefer a more organized approach, try starting in the RUQ, again with the probe in the transverse orientation with the indicator facing the patient’s right.
Tip: if bowel gas is obscuring the image, use graded compression, and watch the patient’s eyes for any signs of discomfort as you apply pressure. The appendix can be especially difficult to visualize in patients with a large habitus. Keep in mind that the appendixes can be retrocecal, thus will be obscured from view when there is gas in the ascending colon.
Acute appendicitis is the most common abdominal emergency, representing 250,000 cases annually, and a lifetime prevalence among men and women of 9% and 7%, respectively (Mostbeck).
However, diagnosing appendicitis is a challenge, despite its prevalence. Symptoms are often non-specific, overlapping with various abdominal pathologies. And finding the appendix can be tricky, especially since the appendix can be located retrocecally.
This makes ultrasound less sensitive (~84%) for detecting appendicitis – failing to identify the appendix does not exclude it.
The most common presenting symptom of appendicitis is abdominal pain. The pain starts as dull periumbilical pain, then localized about a day later as sharp, stabbing pain at McBurney’s point, or 1/3 the distance of a line drawn between the anterior superior iliac spine and the umbilicus.
There are two ways to go about the appendix POCUS exam, described below. We recommend starting with the “point of maximal tenderness” method, then using a more systematic approach to finding the appendix if the first method isn’t successful.
As one of the most common conditions prompting an ED visit, appendicitis is a pathology you are certain to encounter. And it’s a pathology you certainly don’t want to miss, given the complications associated with perforation.
Indications for performing an ultraosund exam of the appendix include the following common signs and symptoms:
The appendix is located in the right lower quadrant, attached to the cecum. However, its location can vary widely in its anatomic position, as pictured below.