Abstract

Dr. Kaveri Bora*, Dr. Kanakeswar Bhuyan, Dr. Purujit Choudhury*, Dr. Punadhar Deori and Dr. Pulak Kr. Das

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Acute appendicitis is one of the most common acute abdominal surgical emergencies; the diagnosis of which is often challenging. If there is a delay in the diagnosis and prompt action is not taken, it may lead to perforation and other complications. Many scoring systems have been devised for the diagnosis of appendicitis. USG also has gained importance in recent years. Aims & Objectives: The aim of this study is to evaluate the use of RIPASA score and USG in the diagnosis to bring down the rate of negative appendicectomies. Materials & methods: This is a cross sectional study and was done in 100 patients admitted in Gauhati Medical College & Hospital for a period of 6months. Patients were evaluated using RIPASA score and USG. Decision for surgery was made independent of the score and USG findings and the diagnosis was confirmed by intraoperative and histopathological findings. The results were confirmed by chi square test. A negative appendicectomy was considered when a non-inflamed appendix was removed. Results: In our study out of 100 patients, who were operated, 80 patients had appendicitis and 20 were normal according to intraoperative and histopathological findings. RIPASA score >7.5 had a sensitivity and specificity of 81.2% and 60% respectively whereas USG had a sensitivity and specificity of 73% and 55% respectively. Conclusion: From this study we conclude that inclusion of USG as a parameter in RIPASA scoring system will be more accurate in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis and in reducing the negative appendicectomy rate.