IMAGING FINDINGS IN PATIENTS WITH RIGHT LOWER QUADRANT PAIN - ALTERNATIVE DIAGNOSES TO APPENDICITIS

Patients with right lower quadrant (RLQ) pain referred for imaging stu dies with a clinical diagnosis of appendicitis may have other patholog ic conditions mimicking appendicitis. Appropriate diagnostic imaging m ay establish other specific diagnoses and thereby play a significant r ole in determining proper medical or surgical treatment. In this picto rial essay, we present a spectrum of imaging findings in patients whos e clinical features were suggestive of appendicitis, but the diagnoses of a broad spectrum of other diseases were established with the imagi ng studies. The differential diagnoses of diseases mimicking appendici tis are reviewed.