Association between complete blood count parameters and histologically proven acute appendicitis

Area of Science:

• Medical diagnostics
• Clinical pathology

Background:

• Acute appendicitis (AA) is a common surgical emergency.
• Differentiating between simple and complicated AA is crucial for appropriate management.
• The role of complete blood count (CBC) parameters in assessing AA severity requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the utility of CBC parameters in determining the severity of acute appendicitis in pediatric and adult populations.
• To identify specific CBC markers that can distinguish between complicated and simple AA.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cross-sectional study of 569 patients operated for AA.
• Inclusion of patients of all ages, with exclusion of other intra-abdominal pathologies.
• Analysis of demographic data, CBC parameters, and histopathology results, stratified by age and AA severity.

Main Results:

• Adults with complicated AA showed significant differences in white blood cell (WBC) count, absolute neutrophil count (ANC), absolute lymphocyte count (ALC), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) compared to those with simple AA.
• No CBC parameters demonstrated statistical significance in differentiating AA severity among pediatric patients.
• Complicated AA was diagnosed in approximately 25% of the study cohort.

Conclusions:

• CBC parameters, including WBC, ANC, ALC, and NLR, are valuable in differentiating complicated from simple acute appendicitis in adults.
• Platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) showed the least predictive value among the assessed parameters for AA severity in adults.
• Further research may be needed to explore diagnostic markers for pediatric appendicitis severity.