CT scans to spot appendicitis up sharply in U.S.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The number of U.S. children and adults getting computed tomography scans to diagnose appendicitis has shot up since the 1990s, according to a study -- raising questions about whether the technology is being over used.

In the study, carried in the Annals of Emergency Medicine, researchers found that across U.S. emergency departments, the percentage of adult appendicitis patients who were diagnosed using CT scans rose from just 6 percent in 1996 to 69 percent in 2006.