The Usefulness of Procalcitonin in the Diagnosis of Appendicitis in Children: A Pilot Study
Objective. To assess the predictive value of procalcitonin in detecting acute appendicitis (AP) in children, and to determine a cutoff value of procalcitonin which can safely include/exclude the diagnosis of acute appendicitis in children with acute abdominal pain. Methods. Prospective cohort study...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2012-01-01
|
| Series: | Emergency Medicine International |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/317504 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832560904625979392 |
|---|---|
| author | Abu N. G. A. Khan Abdel Sawan Antonios Likourezos Mark Schnellinger Estavan Garcia |
| author_facet | Abu N. G. A. Khan Abdel Sawan Antonios Likourezos Mark Schnellinger Estavan Garcia |
| author_sort | Abu N. G. A. Khan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objective. To assess the predictive value of procalcitonin in detecting acute appendicitis (AP) in children, and to determine a cutoff value of procalcitonin which can safely include/exclude the diagnosis of acute appendicitis in children with acute abdominal pain. Methods. Prospective cohort study of children aged 5–17 years presenting to the emergency room with right lower quadrant (RLQ) tenderness and strong suspicion for acute AP. In addition to standard diagnostic workup for acute AP, a quantitative procalcitonin level was measured using immunoluminometric assay. Recursive partitioning model was used to assess the usefulness of procalcitonin in the diagnosis of appendicitis. Results. Of the 50 children studied, 48% were diagnosed to have AP. The mean procalcitonin level was higher among the children with appendicitis (). Using the recursive partitioning model, we identified a cutoff value of procalcitonin level of 0.39 with a likelihood ratio presence of appendicitis 3.25 and absence of appendicitis 0.8. None of the study subjects with procalcitonin level <0.39 and WBC count of <6.76 K had appendicitis. Conclusions. In conjunction with the clinical symptoms, a procalcitonin level and WBC count could be a strong predictor of acute appendicitis in children. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d7e3f7f985cf44abb4d4845a8196a22f |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2090-2840 2090-2859 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2012-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Emergency Medicine International |
| spelling | doaj-art-d7e3f7f985cf44abb4d4845a8196a22f2025-02-03T01:26:33ZengWileyEmergency Medicine International2090-28402090-28592012-01-01201210.1155/2012/317504317504The Usefulness of Procalcitonin in the Diagnosis of Appendicitis in Children: A Pilot StudyAbu N. G. A. Khan0Abdel Sawan1Antonios Likourezos2Mark Schnellinger3Estavan Garcia4Department of Emergency Medicine, Maimonides Medical Center, 4802 Tenth Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11219, USADepartment of Emergency Medicine, Maimonides Medical Center, 4802 Tenth Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11219, USADepartment of Emergency Medicine, Maimonides Medical Center, 4802 Tenth Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11219, USADepartment of Emergency Medicine, Maimonides Medical Center, 4802 Tenth Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11219, USADepartment of Emergency Medicine, Maimonides Medical Center, 4802 Tenth Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11219, USAObjective. To assess the predictive value of procalcitonin in detecting acute appendicitis (AP) in children, and to determine a cutoff value of procalcitonin which can safely include/exclude the diagnosis of acute appendicitis in children with acute abdominal pain. Methods. Prospective cohort study of children aged 5–17 years presenting to the emergency room with right lower quadrant (RLQ) tenderness and strong suspicion for acute AP. In addition to standard diagnostic workup for acute AP, a quantitative procalcitonin level was measured using immunoluminometric assay. Recursive partitioning model was used to assess the usefulness of procalcitonin in the diagnosis of appendicitis. Results. Of the 50 children studied, 48% were diagnosed to have AP. The mean procalcitonin level was higher among the children with appendicitis (). Using the recursive partitioning model, we identified a cutoff value of procalcitonin level of 0.39 with a likelihood ratio presence of appendicitis 3.25 and absence of appendicitis 0.8. None of the study subjects with procalcitonin level <0.39 and WBC count of <6.76 K had appendicitis. Conclusions. In conjunction with the clinical symptoms, a procalcitonin level and WBC count could be a strong predictor of acute appendicitis in children.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/317504 |
| spellingShingle | Abu N. G. A. Khan Abdel Sawan Antonios Likourezos Mark Schnellinger Estavan Garcia The Usefulness of Procalcitonin in the Diagnosis of Appendicitis in Children: A Pilot Study Emergency Medicine International |
| title | The Usefulness of Procalcitonin in the Diagnosis of Appendicitis in Children: A Pilot Study |
| title_full | The Usefulness of Procalcitonin in the Diagnosis of Appendicitis in Children: A Pilot Study |
| title_fullStr | The Usefulness of Procalcitonin in the Diagnosis of Appendicitis in Children: A Pilot Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Usefulness of Procalcitonin in the Diagnosis of Appendicitis in Children: A Pilot Study |
| title_short | The Usefulness of Procalcitonin in the Diagnosis of Appendicitis in Children: A Pilot Study |
| title_sort | usefulness of procalcitonin in the diagnosis of appendicitis in children a pilot study |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/317504 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT abungakhan theusefulnessofprocalcitonininthediagnosisofappendicitisinchildrenapilotstudy AT abdelsawan theusefulnessofprocalcitonininthediagnosisofappendicitisinchildrenapilotstudy AT antonioslikourezos theusefulnessofprocalcitonininthediagnosisofappendicitisinchildrenapilotstudy AT markschnellinger theusefulnessofprocalcitonininthediagnosisofappendicitisinchildrenapilotstudy AT estavangarcia theusefulnessofprocalcitonininthediagnosisofappendicitisinchildrenapilotstudy AT abungakhan usefulnessofprocalcitonininthediagnosisofappendicitisinchildrenapilotstudy AT abdelsawan usefulnessofprocalcitonininthediagnosisofappendicitisinchildrenapilotstudy AT antonioslikourezos usefulnessofprocalcitonininthediagnosisofappendicitisinchildrenapilotstudy AT markschnellinger usefulnessofprocalcitonininthediagnosisofappendicitisinchildrenapilotstudy AT estavangarcia usefulnessofprocalcitonininthediagnosisofappendicitisinchildrenapilotstudy |