Correlation between clinical presentation, peroperative finding and histopathological report in acute appendicitis

Area of Science:

• Medicine
• Surgery
• Diagnostic Accuracy

Background:

• Acute appendicitis is a common surgical emergency often presenting as acute abdomen.
• Diagnosis can be challenging, particularly in atypical presentations, leading to potential misdiagnosis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of clinically diagnosed acute appendicitis.
• To identify factors contributing to misdiagnosis and unnecessary surgical explorations.

Main Methods:

• A prospective study involving 1136 patients with clinically diagnosed acute appendicitis.
• Comparison of clinical diagnosis with intraoperative findings and histopathological reports.
• Analysis of negative exploration rates based on timing (emergency vs. office hours).

Main Results:

• Histopathological confirmation revealed acute appendicitis in 85.65% of cases.
• A significant percentage of patients underwent unnecessary explorations due to misdiagnosis.
• Negative exploration rates were higher during emergency hours compared to office hours.

Conclusions:

• Clinical diagnosis of acute appendicitis has limitations, with a notable rate of misdiagnosis.
• Improving preoperative diagnostic accuracy through enhanced clinical skills and investigations is essential.
• Reducing management errors and unnecessary surgeries requires precise preoperative diagnosis.