Application of a Scoring System to the Diagnosis of Acute Appendicitis.
10.3393/jksc.2010.26.1.34
- Author:
June Young KIM
1
;
Seok Ho CHOI
;
Jin Woo CHA
;
Chang Kyu BYUN
;
Young Taek KOH
;
Dong Yup SEO
Author Information
1. Department of Surgery, National Police Hospital, Seoul, Korea. murmur2@hanmail.net
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Appendicitis;
Scoring system
- MeSH:
Abscess;
Appendicitis;
Appendix;
Delayed Diagnosis;
Diagnostic Errors;
Emergencies;
Humans;
Mass Screening;
Police;
Retrospective Studies;
Sensitivity and Specificity;
Unnecessary Procedures
- From:Journal of the Korean Society of Coloproctology
2010;26(1):34-38
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
PURPOSE: Acute appendicitis is one of the most common diseases requiring surgical treatment. Delayed diagnosis, which causes complications like perforation of the appendix, abscess formation, or misdiagnosis, leads to unnecessary surgery. Many scoring systems have been suggested for the diagnosis of acute appendicitis. This study aims to evaluate the clinical value of previous scoring systems. METHODS: This study was conducted with a total of 270 patients who had visited the National Police Hospital (NPH) Emergency Room for acute abdominal symptoms from January to June 2008. The Alvarado and the Ohmann scores were applied retrospectively based on the patients' records. We found 3 criteria which were relatively objective and clinically meaningful; then, we designed a new 10 points scoring system. RESULTS: The sensitivity and the specificity of the Alvarado scoring system were 83.23% and 64.42%, respectively, whereas those of the Ohmann scoring system were 74.85% and 66.35%, respectively. The sensitivity and the specificity of the NPH scoring system were found to be 78.4% and 68.9%, respectively. The Ohmann scoring system showed a little lower sensitivity, and the NPH scoring system showed a little higher specificity, but the differences were not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Our study indicates that the scoring systems considered are not useful diagnostic methods for primary screening and diagnosis of acute appendicitis.
