Which One is Better? Comparison of the Acute Inflammatory Response, Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha Appendicitis and Alvarado Scoring Systems

PURPOSE: Acute appendicitis (AA) is one of the most common causes of an acute abdomen. The accuracies of the Alvarado and the acute inflammatory response (AIR) scores in the diagnosis of appendicitis is very low in Asian populations, so a new scoring system, the Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha Appendicitis (RIPASA) system, was designed recently. We applied and compared the Alvarado, AIR, and RIPASA scores in the diagnoses of appendicitis in the Iranian population. METHODS: We prospectively compared the RIPASA, Alvarado, and AIR systems by applying them to 100 patients. All the scores were calculated for patients who presented with right quadrant pain. Appendectomies were performed; then, the postoperative pathology reports were correlated with the scores. Scores of 8, 7, and 5 or more are optimal cutoffs for the RIPASA, Alvarado, and AIR scoring systems, respectively. The sensitivities, specificities, positive predictive values, negative predictive values (NPVs), positive and negative likelihood ratios (LRs) for the 3 systems were determined. RESULTS: The sensitivity and the specificity of the RIPASA score were 93.18% and 91.67%, respectively. The sensitivities of the Alvarado and the AIR scores were both 78.41%. The specificities of the Alvarado and the AIR scores were 100% and 91.67%, respectively. The RIPASA score correctly classified 93% of all patients confirmed with histological AA compared with 78.41% for the Alvarado and the AIR scores. CONCLUSION: The RIPASA scoring system had more sensitivity, better NPV, a positive LR, and a less negative LR for the Iranian population whereas the Alvarado scoring system was more specific.

Small bowel obstruction secondary to femoral hernia; case report and review of the literature

Femoral hernias account for 2% to 4% of groin hernias, are more common in women, and are more appropriate to present with strangulation and require emergency surgery. This condition may lead to symptoms of bowel obstruction or strangulation and possible bowel resection-anastomosis. To the best of our knowledge, there is few reports of strangulated femoral hernia. We herein present an 82-year-old lady who presented with a 5-day history of abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. On examination, the patient had a generalized tenderness and distention. The working diagnosis at this time was a bowel obstruction. A computed tomography scan revealed the hernia occurring medial to the femoral vessels and below the inguinal ligament. Laparotomy was performed and patient was treated successfully with surgical therapy. Hernia was repaired and a small bowel resection was performed with end to end anastomosis. The postoperative course was uneventful, and the patient was doing well at a 12-month follow-up visit. Obstructing femoral hernia of the small bowel is rare and the physician should suspect femoral hernia as a bowel obstruction cause