The Role of Ultrasound and Computed Tomography in Evaluating Right Iliac Fossa Pain in Young Patients

Background This study aimed to evaluate the role of non-invasive imaging modalities specifically ultra-sonography USG and computed tomography CT in the timely diagnosis and management of right iliac fossa RIF pain in young patients.Methods A prospective study was conducted in the Department of Radiodiagnosis at K.V.G Medical College. One hundred patients presenting with RIF pain were evaluated using USG with CT performed in select cases. USG was performed using high-frequency linear and convex transducers with CT reserved for complex cases. Surgical findings were used as the gold standard for correlation with imaging results.Results The study population comprised 83 females and 17 males with majority aged 20-29 years. USG findings identified appendicitis in 30 of cases ovarian cysts in 19 and ectopic pregnancy in 8 of cases. Surgical findings confirmed appendicitis in 53 of cases ovarian cysts in 21 and ectopic pregnancy in 11 of cases. The sensitivity and specificity of USG for appendicitis were 100 and 97.22 respectively while for ectopic pregnancy both sensitivity and specificity were 100. Ovarian cysts were diagnosed with 100 sensitivity and 97.59 specificity. CT was used in two cases to confirm cystadenoma.Conclusion USG is a highly reliable non-invasive and cost-effective imaging modality for evaluating RIF pain in young patients particularly in cases of appendicitis ectopic pregnancy and ovarian cysts. Its high diagnostic accuracy coupled with the absence of ionizing radiation makes it the preferred choice for young and pregnant patients. CT while less frequently used remains valuable in complex cases.