Appendicitis diagnostic scoring
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Overview
Overview
The Alvarado score is the most widely used scoring based system in making a diagnosis of appendicitis.
Diagnostic Scoring
Diagnostic Scoring
Alvarado Score
A number of clinical and laboratory based scoring systems have been devised to assist the diagnosis of appendicitis. The most widely used is the Alvarado score:[1][2]
| Migratory right iliac fossa pain | 1 point |
| Anorexia | 1 point |
| Nausea and vomiting | 1 point |
| Right iliac fossa tenderness | 2 points |
| Rebound tenderness | 1 point |
| Fever | 1 point |
| Leukocytosis | 2 points |
| Shift to left (segmented neutrophils) | 1 point |
| Total score | 10 points |
|---|
A score of 7 or more is strongly predictive of acute appendicitis.
In patients with an equivocal score of 5-6, CT scan further reduces the rate of negative appendectomy.
References
References
- ↑ Özsoy Z, Yenidoğan E (2017). “Evaluation of the Alvarado scoring system in the management of acute appendicitis”. Turk J Surg. 33 (3): 200–204. doi:10.5152/turkjsurg.2017.3539. PMC 5602313. PMID 28944334.
- ↑ Ohmann C, Yang Q, Franke C (1995). “Diagnostic scores for acute appendicitis. Abdominal Pain Study Group”. Eur J Surg. 161 (4): 273–81. PMID 7612771.
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