title: Use of the Pediatric Appendicitis Score in a Community Hospital.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To suggest the use of the Pediatric appendicitis score (PAS) for diagnosing acute pediatric appendicitis in a community hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  We retrospectively reviewed the data of 285 patients aged 3 to 17 years who underwent abdominal computed tomography (CT) for suspected acute appendicitis at a single community hospital. The PAS score was compared with the CT findings in the appendicitis (n=86) and non-appendicitis (n=199) group.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The appendicitis group had a significantly higher PAS and more frequently positive CT findings for appendicitis than the non-appendicitis group (P<0.01). There were no significant differences in the diagnostic performance of the PAS and CT. Patients with a PAS of 1 to 3 could be discharged without further imaging study, those with a PAS of 4 to 6 might need to undergo further imaging study, and those with 7 to 10 PAS required surgical consultation with imaging study.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The application of this score could help in reducing the reliance on CT and in standardizing the clinical assessment in a community hospital.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, KEPCO Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Correspondence to: Dr. Ky Young Cho, Department of Pediatrics, KEPCO Medical Center, 308, Uicheon-ro, Dobong-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea. choky96@daum.net.
authors.forename: Dong Yeon
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Dong Ho
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Shim
authors.forename: Ky Young
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Cho
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001064:Appendicitis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000628:therapy; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006764:Hospitals, Community; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed