CAPS original paperInflammatory markers for acute appendicitis in children: are they helpful?
Section snippets
Patients and methods
A prospective study was performed on children (maximum age, 14 years) who underwent surgery for suspected acute appendicitis at the Paediatric Surgery Unit of the University of Padova, Italy, between March 2003 and December 2005. The diagnosis of suspected appendicitis was established preoperatively by one of the consultant pediatric surgeons on the basis of clinical history and physical examination. Abdominal ultrasound scan was performed when a gynecologic condition was suspected or when the
Results
One hundred children had a pathologically confirmed appendicitis during the study period. There were 55 males and 45 females, with a mean age of 9.34 ± 3.54 years. During the same period, 8 children who underwent surgery for suspected acute appendicitis had a normal appendix at histopathologic examination (7.40% of total appendectomies). There were 5 males and 3 females, and the mean age was 11.82 ± 1.94 years. At surgery, 23 patients had complicated appendicitis (diffuse peritonitis in 19
Discussion
Acute appendicitis is characterized by the development of inflammation at a local level, followed by a more generalized inflammatory response. The rationale of laboratory tests in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis is based on the possibility of detecting signs of systemic inflammation with a diagnostic tool that is widely available and easy to perform, is minimally invasive, has limited costs, and can be repeated if necessary [14]. Although, over the last few decades, several markers of
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Acute appendicitis in infants
2023, Journal of Pediatric Surgery Case ReportsCitation Excerpt :Nevertheless, the risks related to the exposure of infants to ionizing radiation cannot be ignored. Blood tests in infants with suspected AA can often show unspecific results [16,17]. Increased CRP values may be particularly indicative of complications such as appendix perforation and abscesses.
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2018, Journal of Surgical ResearchCitation Excerpt :Most commonly, total leukocyte count and CRP are used to increase the diagnostic accuracy of AA.15 However, their capacities regarding the diagnosis of AA vary greatly in different studies.24-26 An investigation by Schellekens et al.15 examining adult patients with appendicitis has reported AUCs of 0.79 and 0.71 for leukocyte counts and CRP, respectively.
Appendicitis versus non-specific acute abdominal pain: Paediatric Appendicitis Score evaluation
2018, Anales de Pediatria