DIAGNOSTIC STUDY OF CLINICAL, LABORATORY AND RADIOLOGICAL FINDINGS IN ACUTE APPENDICITIS

Background: Appendicitis is the inflammation of the appendix. It is a disease of the young, with 40% of cases occurring between the ages of 10 and 29 yrs. The present study involves diagnostic study of clinical, laboratory and radiological findings in acute appendicitis. Materials and methods: It was a prospective analytical study carried out at department of surgery, Services hospital Lahore. To study diagnostic accuracy and value of clinical, laboratory and radiological findings in acute appendicitis, conducted during the period from October 2016 to October 2017. Results: It was observed that majority of patients belonged to age group 21-30 years (34%) followed by 31-40 years (26%). The proportion of male cases was 58% while that of female cases was 42%. All patients presented with pain in abdomen and tenderness in right iliac fossa (100%), followed by vomiting (82%). Conclusions: Acute appendicitis is more a clinical diagnosis rather than radiological. It is better to use radiological investigations only to confirm the diagnosis of acute appendicitis rather to diagnose it primarily because it is clear from the present study that a significant number of positive cases had been missed radiologically. Keywords: Acute abdomen, Acute appendicitis, Appendix, Clinical diagnosis