Abstract

Acute appendicitis is the commonest surgical emergency. It can be diagnosed by clinical examination alone but ultrasound and CT scan have also been employed to get a definitive diagnosis in unclear cases. We have evaluated the role of Modified Alvarado score in the diagnosis of this disease with the aim to increase the sensitivity of the clinical diagnosis and decrease the use of expensive and time-consuming tests. Materials and methods: 50 cases of acute appendicitis were evaluated on the basis of Modified Alvarado score in this prospective study over the period of 2 years in the Department of Surgery, Government Medical College, Amritsar. Informed consent was taken and the data was analysed with the help of tables and bar graphs. Results: Modified Alvarado scoring system was found to have high sensitivity for both males (84.2%) and females (78.9%) in this study group which was comparable to the high sensitivity of this system found in other studies. In addition to that, this system also had a high positive predictive value for both sexes. Conclusion: In the diagnosis of acute appendicitis, the Modified Alvarado score is a fast, simple, reliable, non-invasive, repeatable and safe diagnostic modality without extra expense and complications.

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