DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2015.v03i09.027

Pages: 3280-3283

Acute appendicitis is a medical emergency that dictates an urgent operative procedure to prevent complications that are potentially life-threatening. Diagnosis of acute appendicitis presents challenges, more so among children. Ultrasonography and CT have improved the diagnostic accuracy, but these investigations require resources and technical expertise that may not be available in all hospital settings in rural India. Hence, there is a need to explore additional diagnostic tools to augment early and more precise diagnosis of acute appendicitis. This study has been carried out to identify validity of plasma procalcitonin for diagnosis of acute appendicitis among children. The Patients and Methods were in this study was conducted among 30 children diagnosed as acute appendicitis in a tertiary care hospital. WBC count, levels of C-reactive proteins & serum procalcitonin and ultrasonography were carried out in these patients. The excised appendix was subjected to histopathology, and results of histopathological examinations were utilized as gold standard to calculate sensitivity, specificity, positive- and negative-predictive values of four investigations. In results the study revealed high validity of procalcitonin as a tool for diagnosis of acute appendicitis among children. The comparative results of validity of four investigations are reported. In discussion the results of the study with similar studies carried out in India and abroad are discussed. In conclusion the Authors recommend that multi-centric study on validity and cost-effectiveness of plasma procalcitonin as a diagnostic tool for acute appendicitis should be undertaken to include this test in the protocol of management of acute abdomen with high index of suspicion of acute appendicitis.