Role of modified alvarado score in diagnosing acute appendicitis in emergency setup

ABSTRACT

The objective of the study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of modified Alvarado score on patients presenting in surgical emergency with suspicion of acute appendicitis. We studied the Alvarado score of 200 patients in 11 months period who presented to the emergency department with right iliac fossa pain. We decided to design this study with the aim of investigating whether the Alvarado Score can be used by emergency doctors as a criteria for diagnosing acute appendicitis. We compared the Alvarado Score with the operative findings and grade of appendicitis. A total of two hundred patients were studied. We found that patients who had a score of less than 5 had a normal appendix, but at the same time 17% had acute appendicitis. While if, Alvarado Score >5, 59% had acute appendicitis and 1% have normal appendix. Thus the Alvarado Score is both specific and sensitive in diagnosis of acute appendicitis. It is concluded that Alvarado score is a free and easy to use tool and is very helpful in diagnosing acute appendicitis and decreasing the incidence of negative appendectomies