Appendicitis: Still a clinical diagnosis

ABSTRACT

Appendicitis is the most common acute abdominal condition the surgeon is called upon to treat. It is one of the difficult diagnostic problems that confront the clinician. A differential diagnosis includes virtually every acute process within the abdominal cavity as well as some of the emergencies that affect the organs of the thorax. There are different ways of achieving an accurate diagnosis. A study of 65 cases of acute appendicitis presented, spreads over a period of one year. Clinical diagnosis is compared with histological diagnosis, role of white cell count is looked into and other means of diagnosis are discussed. It is concluded that acute appendicitis is still a clinical diagnosis