Najmuddin Shabbir.
Significance of C-reactive protein levels in reducing negative explorations for acute appendicitis
Pak J Surg May - Jul 2005;21(1):6-9.
Fatima Jinnah Dental College, Karachi

Objective: To study the significance of C-Reactive Protein in improving the diagnosis of acute appendicitis and to assess its role in preventing negative appendicectomies. Design: Prospective, double blind study. Setting: Sarfaraz Rafiquee Shaheed Hospital and Faiz-e-Aam Hospital, Karachi. Patients: 100 consequtive patients with acute appendicitis who underwent surgery. Methodology: Blood sample from 100 patients were collected pre-operatively for Total Leucocyte Cont (TLC) and C-Reactive Protein (CRP). All specimen removed were sent for histopathology. The TLC, CRP and histopathology findings were correlated, and patients grouped into positive (acute appendicitis) and negative (normal appendix) cases. Results: In patients with histopathologically proven acute appendicitis, both the TLC and CRP were significantly raised, p-0.025 and p<0.0001 respectively. However, in 16 out of 19 negative explorations (normal appendix on histopathology), serum CRP level was found to be normal. The specificity and sensitivity of serum CRP was 84.21% and 93.8% respectively. Conclusion: A normal pre-operative serum CRP measurement in patients with suspected acute appendicitis is most likely associated with a normal appendix. Deferring surgery in this group of patients and/or further investigation into other possible causes might reduce the rate of unnecessary appendicectomies.

Category: Surgery
Keywords: Appendicitis. Appendicectomy. Total Leucocyte Count. Appendix. C Reactive Protein.

Click here for Full Text Article

This article has been viewed 350 times

Submit your Research Synopsis for Free Expert analysis - Search- Feedback - Drug Index
Post and View Comments on this Article