title: Appendicitis. The computer as a diagnostic tool.
abstract: At present there is no definitive test for appendicitis and no clear set of signs and symptoms, so that diagnosis is uncertain and probabilistic. A computer model for analyzing clinical data can improve physician accuracy in diagnosing appendicitis by assessing the outcome probabilities associated with the treatment options. Should a definitive test become available, the computer model will aid clinicians in determining when to test. Once our proposed model has been validated, it will not only improve physician decision-making, but also provide quality assurance feedback, generate reports for documentation, and compile a data base of many cases for study and reference.
mesh_terms: D001064:Appendicitis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003661:Decision Support Techniques; D003936:Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005103:Expert Systems; D006801:Humans; D014481:United States