A comparative study on the diagnostic validity of three scoring systems in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis in emergency centres.

Appendicitis C-reactive protein Emergency department Polymorphonuclear White blood cell

Journal

African journal of emergency medicine : Revue africaine de la medecine d'urgence
ISSN: 2211-4203
Titre abrégé: Afr J Emerg Med
Pays: Netherlands
ID NLM: 101572277

Informations de publication

Date de publication:
Sep 2020
Historique:
received: 15 12 2019
revised: 22 02 2020
accepted: 18 04 2020
entrez: 14 9 2020
pubmed: 15 9 2020
medline: 15 9 2020
Statut: ppublish

Résumé

Considering the inconsistencies on the validity scoring systems in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis, our aim was to compare the accuracy of the three Anderson, Alvarado and Alvarado + CRP scoring systems in the diagnosis of patients with suspected acute appendicitis. This was a prospective observational study performed on patients 15-65 years complained of abdominal pain in the RLQ with a high clinical suspicion of acute appendicitis within two years. The scoring systems of Anderson, Alvarado, and Alvarado + CRP were recorded using a pre-prepared questionnaire by a senior emergency medicine assistant. Acute appendicitis was confirmed based on the histopathologic findings. Written informed consent was obtained from all the patients before entering the study. 200 patients were enrolled in the study. In 159 cases diagnosed with appendicitis based on histopathological findings, Anderson, Alvarado, and Alvarado scoring systems were able to identify 121, 152, and 147 cases respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy were 77%, 19%, 78%, 17 and 64% in Anderson, 95%, 7%, 75%, 30% and 77% in Alvarado, and 92%, 7%, 79%, 20%, and 75% in Alvarado + CRP scoring systems, respectively. Anderson scoring system had lower diagnostic accuracy than the Alvarado system. The role of CRP as an adjunct test to increase the accuracy of the Alvarado scoring system in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis has been under question. Given the inconsistent results of the scoring systems in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis, there is a need to develop a more precise clinical-paraclinical scoring system for this condition.

Sections du résumé

BACKGROUND BACKGROUND
Considering the inconsistencies on the validity scoring systems in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis, our aim was to compare the accuracy of the three Anderson, Alvarado and Alvarado + CRP scoring systems in the diagnosis of patients with suspected acute appendicitis.
METHODS METHODS
This was a prospective observational study performed on patients 15-65 years complained of abdominal pain in the RLQ with a high clinical suspicion of acute appendicitis within two years. The scoring systems of Anderson, Alvarado, and Alvarado + CRP were recorded using a pre-prepared questionnaire by a senior emergency medicine assistant. Acute appendicitis was confirmed based on the histopathologic findings. Written informed consent was obtained from all the patients before entering the study.
RESULTS RESULTS
200 patients were enrolled in the study. In 159 cases diagnosed with appendicitis based on histopathological findings, Anderson, Alvarado, and Alvarado scoring systems were able to identify 121, 152, and 147 cases respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy were 77%, 19%, 78%, 17 and 64% in Anderson, 95%, 7%, 75%, 30% and 77% in Alvarado, and 92%, 7%, 79%, 20%, and 75% in Alvarado + CRP scoring systems, respectively.
CONCLUSION CONCLUSIONS
Anderson scoring system had lower diagnostic accuracy than the Alvarado system. The role of CRP as an adjunct test to increase the accuracy of the Alvarado scoring system in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis has been under question. Given the inconsistent results of the scoring systems in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis, there is a need to develop a more precise clinical-paraclinical scoring system for this condition.

Identifiants

pubmed: 32923323
doi: 10.1016/j.afjem.2020.04.009
pii: S2211-419X(20)30031-8
pmc: PMC7474237
doi:

Types de publication

Journal Article

Langues

eng

Pagination

132-135

Informations de copyright

© 2020 African Federation for Emergency Medicine. Publishing services provided by Elsevier.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Références

Pan Afr Med J. 2019 Sep 06;34:15
pubmed: 31762884
BMC Emerg Med. 2018 May 24;18(1):15
pubmed: 29793425
Int J Surg. 2004;2(2):88-9
pubmed: 17462226
Dan Med J. 2015 Dec;62(12):A5167
pubmed: 26621395
BMC Med. 2011 Dec 28;9:139
pubmed: 22204638
Ulus Travma Acil Cerrahi Derg. 2019 May;25(3):229-237
pubmed: 31135946
Am J Emerg Med. 2015 Feb;33(2):266-70
pubmed: 25542452
Am J Surg. 2015 Jun;209(6):1043-7
pubmed: 25172166
World J Emerg Surg. 2012 Aug 06;7(1):27
pubmed: 22866907
Biochem Med (Zagreb). 2018 Oct 15;28(3):030712
pubmed: 30429680
Cureus. 2018 Jan 15;10(1):e2070
pubmed: 29552432
ANZ J Surg. 2018 Jun;88(6):E539-E543
pubmed: 27625212

Auteurs

Farahnaz Farahbakhsh (F)

Department of Emergency Medicine, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.

Mehdi Torabi (M)

Department of Emergency Medicine, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.

Moghaddameh Mirzaee (M)

Associate professor Modeling in Health Research Center, Institute for Futures Studies in Health, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.

Classifications MeSH