• Hannu Lintula, Erkki Pesonen, Hannu Kokki, Kari Vanamo, and Matti Eskelinen.
• Department of Pediatric Surgery, Kuopio University Hospital, PO Box 1777, 70211 Kuopio, Finland. hannu.lintula@kuh.fi
• Langenbecks Arch Surg. 2005 Apr 1;390(2):164-70.

Background/PurposeAppendicectomy is an operation that is often performed without certainty of diagnosis. This study aimed to construct and to validate a prognostic score for the diagnosis of acute appendicitis in children.MethodsData for 35 symptoms and signs were prospectively recorded for 131 consecutive children with suspected appendicitis. Logistic regression analysis of the variables yielded a diagnostic score: gender (male 2 points, female 0) + intensity of abdominal pain (severe 2, mild or moderate 0) + relocation of pain (yes 4, no 0) + vomiting (yes 2, no 0) + pain in the right lower abdominal quadrant (yes 4, no 0) + fever (yes 3, no 0) + guarding (yes 4, no 0) + bowel sounds (abnormal 4, normal 0) + rebound tenderness (yes 7, no 0). The cut-off level for recommendation of appendicectomy was > or =21, and the cut-off level for non-appendicitis was < or =15. The score was prospectively validated on 109 children.ResultsIn the validation sample, based on clinical judgment, unnecessary appendicectomy was performed in ten (27%) children, and one (4%) child was misdiagnosed as not having appendicitis. By application of the score, unnecessary appendicectomies would have been reduced to four (13%), and three children (11%) with appendicitis would have been discharged.ConclusionThe use of a predictive mathematical model may facilitate the diagnosis of appendicitis to avoid unnecessary operations.

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