ANALYSIS OF DIAGNOSTIC ACCURACY OF COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF ACUTE APPENDICITIS PATIENTS

Introduction: Appendix is a small pouch attached to the beginning of large intestine. Appendicitis, an inflammation of the appendix, is the most common acute surgical condition of the abdomen. Objective: To analyse the diagnostic accuracy of computed tomography in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis patients. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in Allied hospital, Faisalabad during March 2019 to July 2019. Through a descriptive cross-sectional study design, a total of 191 patients suspected of having acute appendicitis were included in the study in a consecutive manner and subjected to CT pre operatively and histopathology post operatively for the acute appendicitis. Results: The mean age of the patients was 29.5 + 6.7 years. We had 53.4% males & 46.6% females. On CT we observed that the acute appendicitis was recorded in 58.1% of patients compared to 47.6% on histopathology. On applying the formulae for calculation, sensitivity of CT was found to be 89% and specificity 70%. The positive predictive value of the CT is 72.9% and negative predictive value is 87.5%. Conclusion: CT is a highly sensitive and specific tool for the detection of acute appendicitis. As such, it is a useful radiological marker for diagnosis of acute appendicitis in adults and further studies are recommended to confirm its usefulness