Correlation between Surgical Alvarado score and histological examination in the assessment of acute appendicitis

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic accuracy performance of Alvarado score in patients with suspected appendicitis with respect to histological examination . Methods: In this retrospective study we examined the files of 84 patients who underwent appendecictomies at Prince Hashem Bin Abdullah II Hospital in Aqaba and king Hussien Hospital in Amman from August 2013 to December 2015 . Alvaradao score was calculated from preoperative notes . All cases had subsequent histological examination which was also obtained from the patients’ files . Results: out of 84 patients who underwent appendiectomy , diagnosis was confirmed by histopathological findings in 68 patients . 63 of them with alvarado score of 7 or more ( 92,6 % ) , the normal appendiectomy rate was 19 % . the number of patients with score less 5 , 5 - 7 , 7 - 9 were 7 , 24 , 53 respectively , while the number of appendicitis in each group were ( 4,7 % ) , 8 ( 33,3 % ) , 49 ( 92,4 % ) . Conclusion: Alvarado scoring system is a simple and reliable test in the pre-operative diagnosis of acute appendicitis and should be encouraged in day to day practice to ensure best patient care and management .