title: Diagnosing appendicitis: What works, what does not and where to go from here?
abstract: Although acute appendicitis is the most common reason for emergency abdominal surgery in children, diagnosis is far from straightforward. Delays in diagnosis can result in significant complications, whereas over-diagnosis can result in costly inter-hospital transfers and unnecessary surgery. This article aims to describe current evidence-based assessment of children with possible appendicitis presenting to the emergency department. We provide an overview of the literature relating to the various available diagnostic approaches, including the application of history, examination, pathology tests, imaging, and clinical decision rules.
authors.affiliation: Emergency Medicine Training, Monash Medical Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.|School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.|Paediatric Research in Emergency Departments International Collaborative (PREDICT), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.|Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Craig
authors.affiliation: Paediatric Research in Emergency Departments International Collaborative (PREDICT), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.|The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.|Clinical Excellence Commission, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dalton
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D001062:Appendectomy; D001064:Appendicitis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D002648:Child; D000066491:Clinical Decision-Making / Q000379:methods*; D003661:Decision Support Techniques; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D006801:Humans; D000070316:Pediatric Emergency Medicine / Q000379:methods*; D019564:Unnecessary Procedures
keywords: appendicitis; diagnosis; paediatrics; ultrasonography