ULTRASOUND AND THE ALVARADO SCORE FOR DIAGNOSING ACUTE APPENDICITIS

Sumia   Hdra

doi:10.26719/LJMR.18.03.03

Authors

Sumia Taher Hdra Surgical department, Faculty of Medicine University OF , Zawia -Libya Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26719/LJMR.18.03.03

Keywords:

acute appendicitis, Alvarado score, ultrasonography, sensitivity

Abstract

Background: the signs and symptoms associated with acute appendicitis are determined by the Alvarado score with a numerical value. The Alvarado score is practically equivalent to the clinical suspicion score. On the other hand, ultrasound is often used to help diagnose acute appendicitis. Aim & Objective: to study the sensitivity of the Alvarado Scoring System and Ultrasonography in diagnosing appendicitis in Zawia Medical Center.Methods: In this study 146 patients were included with provisional diagnosis of acute appendicitis and admitted and operated in the Department of General Surgery, Zawia Medical Center from July 2018 to July 2019. Alvarado score was applied and ultra sound abdomen was done pre operatively. The study population was divided into two groups regarding the Modified Alvarado scoring ≥ 7 and ≤ 7. The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of both clinical scores and ultrasound were compared.Results: Our study indicated overall sensitivity of the Alvarado system; score ≥ 7 was (65% for male, 68% for female) while for score ≤ 7 the sensitivity was (52% for male and 66% for female). While the sensitivity of ultrasonography, was (76.9% foe male and 71.4% for female (score ≥ 7), and (81.8% for male, 66.6% for female (score ≤ 7).Conclusion: From our study, we can conclude that both the Alvarado score approach and ultrasonography are effective diagnostic methods for acute appendicitis, with the sensitivity of ultrasonography reaching 81%.

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