RESUMO
Background: The diagnosis of acute appendicitis relies more on the clinical acumen of the surgeon than on the investigations. As the condition is associated with an acute-phase reaction the analysis of WBC, neutrophil percentage and serum level of CRP has been demonstrated to be important diagnostic tools. Surprisingly the level of CRP becomes proportionately raised with increasing severity of the histopathological variety of the appendix. Aim of the study: The aim of this study was to compare the preoperative CRP level with postoperative histological findings and find out a predictive value of CRP as an indicator for surgical intervention in acute appendicitis.Material & Methods:It was a prospective, cross-sectional, observational study executed in the Department of Surgery, Dhaka Medical College Hospital from January to December of 2015 where 107 patients were included in this study. Preoperative level of CRP and WBC count was done in all selected patients. Histopathological severity of the resected specimen of the appendix was determined postoperatively. The correlation between preoperative clinical factors and the actual histological severity and identification of surgical indication markers was assessed to determine whether only the CRP level significantly differs between the surgical treatment necessary group and the possible non-surgical treatment group.Results:54% (58) of the patients were female out of a total of 107. Peak incidence (25.2%) was in the 16-20 years age group. Neither age nor gender had any significance with the type of appendicitis. Among the patients 28.1% (30) had gangrenous appendicitis. In patients with histopathologically proven acute appendicitis, both the WBC count and serum CRP level were raised. But only the CRP level significantly differs between gangrenous appendicitis and uncomplicated appendicitis (p-value<0.0001). The specificity and sensitivity of serum CRP for gangrenous appendicitis were 97% and 71% respectively. The ROC curve indicated that the cutoff value of CRP for gangrenous appendicitis is 6.2 mg/dl. Conclusions:A normal pre-operative serum CRP measurement in patients with suspected acute appendicitis is most likely associated with a normal or uncomplicated inflammation of the appendix. The rate of unnecessary appendectomies would probably reduce in this patient group by deferring surgery. Only the CRP level is consistent with the severity of appendicitis and can be considered to be a surgical indication marker for acute appendicitis.