Watch video about laparoscopic appendectomy surgery here for FREE! You'll see how doctors do with our appendix!.Appendicitis Updated Review
Review all aspect of appendicitis including symptoms, sign, investigation,treatment and surgery
Watch video about laparoscopic appendectomy surgery here for FREE! You'll see how doctors do with our appendix!.Appendicitis Laboratory Studies
Laboratory studies can be helpful in the diagnosis of appendicitis, but no single test is definitive. A white blood cell count (WBC) is perhaps the most useful laboratory test. Typically, the WBC is slightly elevated in nonperforated appendicitis, but may be quite elevated in the presence of perforation. The clinician must remember, however, that the WBC can be normal in patients with acute appendicitis, particularly in early cases. Serial WBC measurements improve the diagnostic accuracy, with a rising value over time commonly seen in patients with appendicitis. Urinalysis is performed to diagnose other potential causes for abdominal pain, specifically urinary tract infection and ureteral stone. Significant hematuria with colicky abdominal pain suggests ureterolithiasis, and testing directed at this diagnosis is indicated. A urinary tract infection, on the other hand, is not uncommon in patients with appendicitis. Its presence does not exclude the diagnosis of acute appendicitis, but it should be identified and treated. Although pyuria suggests urinary tract infection, it is not uncommon for the urinalysis in a patient with appendicitis to show a few white blood cells solely due to inflammation of the ureter by the adjacent appendix.
Appendicitis Laboratory Findings
The average leukocyte count in appendicitis is 15,000/L, and 90% of patients have counts over 10,000/L. In three-fourths of patients, the differential white count shows more than 75% neutrophils. It must be emphasized, however, that one patient in ten with acute appendicitis has a leukocyte count indistinguishable from normal, and many have normal differential cell counts. Appendicitis in patients infected with HIV produces the same syndrome as in other people, but the white blood cell count is usually normal.
The urine is usually normal, but a few leukocytes and erythrocytes and occasionally even gross hematuria may be noted, particularly in retrocecal or pelvic appendicitis.
