• Advances in pediatric surgery
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• 제10권2호
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• pp.117-122
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• 2004

Diagnosis of acute appendicitis in children is sometimes difficult. The aim of this study is to validate a clinical scoring system and ultrasonography for the early diagnosis and treatment of appendicitis in childhood. This is a prospective study on 59 children admitted with abdominal pain at St. Mary's Hospital, the Catholic University of Korea from July 2002 to August 2003. We applied Madan Samuel's Pediatric Appendicitis Score (PAS) based on preoperative history, physical examination, laboratory finding and ultrasonography. This study was designed as follows: patients with score 5 or less were observed regardless of the positive ultrasonographic finding, patients with score 6 and 7 were decided according to the ultrasonogram and patients above score 8 were operated in spite of negative ultrasonographic finding. The patients were divided into two groups, appendicitis (group A) and non-appendicitis groups (group B). Group A consisted of 36 cases and Group B, 23 cases. Mean score of group A was 8.75 and group B was 6.13 (p<0.001). Comparing the diagnostic methods in acute appendicitis by surveying sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy, PAS gave 1.0000, 0.3043, 0.6923, 1.0000, and 0.7288, and ultrasonography gave 0.7778, 0.9130, 0.9333, 0.7241, and 0.8300 while the combined test gave 1.0000, 0.8696, 0.9231, 1.0000, and 0.9490, respectively. Negative laparotomy rate was 3 %. In conclusion, the combination of PAS and ultrasonography is a more accurate diagnostic tool than either PAS or ultrasonography.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• 제25권1호
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• pp.30-40
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• 2022

Purpose: Pediatric acute appendicitis has a stable incidence rate in Western countries with an annual change of -0.36%. However, a sharp increase was observed in the Asian region. The Indonesian Health Department reveals appendicitis as the fourth most infectious disease, with more than 64,000 patients annually. Hence, there is an urgent need to identify and evaluate the risk factors and diagnostic modalities for accurate diagnosis and early treatment. This study also clarifies the usage of pediatric appendicitis score (PAS) for children <5 years of age. Methods: The current study employed a cross-sectional design with purposive sampling through demographic and PAS questionnaires with ultrasound sonography (USG) results. The analysis was performed using the chi-square and Mann-Whitney tests and logistic regression. Results: This study included 21 qualified patients with an average age of 6.76±4.679 years, weighing 21.72±10.437 kg, and who had been hospitalized for 4.24±1.513 days in Siloam Teaching Hospital. Compared to the surgical gold standard, PAS and USG have moderate sensitivity and specificity. Bodyweight and stay duration were significant for appendicitis (p<0.05); however, all were confounders in the multivariate regression analysis. Incidentally, a risk prediction model was generated with an area under the curve of 72.73%, sensitivity of 100.0%, specificity of 54.5%, and a cut-off value of 151. Conclusion: PAS outperforms USG in the sensitivity of diagnosing appendicitis, whereas USG outperforms PAS in terms of specificity. This study demonstrates the use of PAS in children under 5 years old. Meanwhile, no risk factors were significant in multivariate pediatric acute appendicitis risk factors.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• 제21권1호
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• pp.51-58
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• 2018

Purpose: To clarify the clinical features of appendicitis in preschool children and to explore clinical appendicitis scoring systems in this age group. Methods: We retrospectively collected data on 142 children, aged 10 years or younger, with confirmed diagnosis of appendicitis based on surgical and pathologic findings. Enrolled subjects were divided into two groups: Group 1 (preschool children aged ${\leq}5$ years, n=41) and Group 2 (school children aged >5 to ${\leq}10$ years, n=101). Data analyzed included clinical presentation, laboratory findings, the pediatric appendicitis score (PAS), and the modified Alvarado score (MAS). Results: The most common presenting symptom was abdominal pain in both groups (92.7% vs. 97.0%). Other presenting symptoms were as follows: fever (65.9%), vomiting (68.3%), right lower quadrant (RLQ) localization (24.4%), anorexia (14.6%), and diarrhea (7.3%) in Group 1, and RLQ localization (74.3%), vomiting (71.3%), anorexia (52.5%), fever (47.5%), and diarrhea (11.9%) in Group 2. Perforation and abscess occurred more frequently in Group 1 than in Group 2 (43.9% vs. 12.9%, p<0.001; 34.1% vs. 5.0%, p<0.001; respectively). PAS and MAS were lower in Group 1 than in Group 2 ($4.09{\pm}1.97$ vs. $6.91{\pm}1.61$, p=0.048; $4.65{\pm}1.79$ vs. $6.51{\pm}1.39$, p=0.012; respectively). Conclusion: In preschool children, appendicitis often presents with atypical features, more rapid progression, and higher incidence of complications. This age group is more likely to have lower PAS and MAS than those of school children.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• 제7권1호
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• pp.1-7
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• 2004

목 적: Alvarado score는 성인에서 급성 충수돌기염 환자의 조기 진단에 용이하고 오진율을 줄이는 유용한 진단법으로 알려져 있다. 저자들은 급성 복통이 주소인 소아 환아에서 급성충수돌기염 진단에 alvarado score의 유용성에 대하여 알아보고 진단의 정확성에 대하여 평가하고자 연구를 하였다. 방 법: 2002년 6월부터 2003년 5월까지 조선대학교 부속 병원 응급실을 방문한 복통을 호소하는 소아 170명 중 충수돌기염의 강하게 의심되는 122명을 대상으로 전향적으로 조사하였다. 복통을 주소로 방문한 환아의 나이, 임상증상, 임상징후, 혈액학적 검사결과를 분석하여 Alvarado score를 산출하고 진단을 위해 복부초음파 검사나 전산화 단층 촬영을 시행하고 수술을 시행한 경우 조직학적 진단을 하여 확진하였으며 수술하지 않은 군은 12시간의 추적 관찰로 확진하였다. 방사선학적 진단과 수술 결과 등을 비교하여 확진군과 오진군의 Alvarado score를 비교 분석하였다. 결 과: 응급실에 복통이 주소인 환아 중 충수돌기염이 강하게 의심되었던 환아는 122명이었다. 122명의 환아 중 남아는 67명(54.9%), 여아는 55명(45.1%)이었다. 조직검사를 통해 충수돌기염으로 진단 받은 환자는 수술한 105명 중 92명으로 87.6%에 해당하였고 충수돌기염으로 수술한 환자들의 오진율은 12.4%였다. 평균 Alvarado score는 충수돌기염 군은 $5.40{\pm}1.24$, 충수돌기염이 아닌 군은 $3.73{\pm}1.82$이었다(p<0.05). Alvarado score 6점 이상인 경우 소아 충수돌기염을 진단하는데 민감도가 86.4%, 특이도는 80.0%였다. 소아 충수돌기염을 진단하는데 복부 초음파검사나 전산화단층촬영의 진단의 민감도는 92.5%였다. 결 론: 복부초음파검사나 전산화 단층 촬영 등과 함께 Alvarado score는 소아 충수돌기염의 진단에 유용하게 이용될 수 있을 것으로 생각된다.

• Advances in pediatric surgery
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• 제20권2호
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• pp.48-52
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• 2014

Purpose: Currently the substantial clinical benefits of single-port laparoscopic appendectomy (SLA) over conventional three-port laparoscopic appendectomy (CLA) are equivocal. The aim of this study was to compare surgical outcomes between SLA and CLA in children with acute appendicitis. Methods: A single blind prospective randomized single center study was performed to compare the surgical outcomes of SLA and CLA. A total of 105 patients were randomized and various parameters were analyzed, 52 patients with SLA and 53 patients with CLA between July 2013 and March 2014. Patients with sonographically confirmed acute appendicitis were randomly assigned to receive either SLA or CLA. The outcome measurements were operating time, wound complication, and intraperitoneal morbidities, postoperative pain score and cosmetic result score. Results: Operating time is significantly longer in SLA ($70.4{\pm}26.7$ minutes vs. $58.0{\pm}23.4$ minutes; p=0.016). There were no significant differences in the postoperative wound complication rate and intraperitoneal morbidities between two groups. There were no significant differences in postoperative resting pain score ($6.6{\pm}2.5$ vs. $6.3{\pm}2.5$; p=0.317) and activity pain score ($6.9{\pm}2.4$ vs. $6.3{\pm}2.5$; p=0.189), and the cosmetic result score ($9.2{\pm}1.1$ vs. $9.1{\pm}1.4$; p=0.853). Conclusion: Although SLA would be a safe and feasible procedure in children, SLA could not demonstrate the clear benefit over CLA.