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The Usefulness of Procalcitonin in the Diagnosis of Appendicitis in Children : A Pilot Study
Joint Authors
Likourezos, Antonios
Sawan, Abdel
Schnellinger, Mark
Garcia, Estavan
Khan, Abu N. G. A.
Source
Emergency Medicine International
Issue
Vol. 2012, Issue 2012 (31 Dec. 2012), pp.1-5, 5 p.
Publisher
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Publication Date
2012-12-05
Country of Publication
Egypt
No. of Pages
5
Main Subjects
Abstract EN
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 (P=0.3).
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.
American Psychological Association (APA)
Khan, Abu N. G. A.& Sawan, Abdel& Likourezos, Antonios& Schnellinger, Mark& Garcia, Estavan. 2012. The Usefulness of Procalcitonin in the Diagnosis of Appendicitis in Children : A Pilot Study. Emergency Medicine International،Vol. 2012, no. 2012, pp.1-5.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-463011
Modern Language Association (MLA)
Khan, Abu N. G. A.…[et al.]. The Usefulness of Procalcitonin in the Diagnosis of Appendicitis in Children : A Pilot Study. Emergency Medicine International No. 2012 (2012), pp.1-5.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-463011
American Medical Association (AMA)
Khan, Abu N. G. A.& Sawan, Abdel& Likourezos, Antonios& Schnellinger, Mark& Garcia, Estavan. The Usefulness of Procalcitonin in the Diagnosis of Appendicitis in Children : A Pilot Study. Emergency Medicine International. 2012. Vol. 2012, no. 2012, pp.1-5.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-463011
Data Type
Journal Articles
Language
English
Notes
Includes bibliographical references
Record ID
BIM-463011