AIR SCORE ASSESSMENT FOR ACUTE APPENDICITIS

BACKGROUND: Acute appendicitis is the most common cause of acute abdomen. Approximately 7% of the population will be affected by this condition during full life. The development of AIR score may contribute to diagnosis associating easy clinical criteria and two simple laboratory tests. AIM: To evaluate the score AIR (Appendicitis Inflammatory Response score) as a tool for the diagnosis and prediction of severity of acute appendicitis. METHOD: Were evaluated all patients undergoing surgical appendectomy. From 273 patients, 126 were excluded due to exclusion criteria. All patients were submitted o AIR score. RESULTS: The value of the C-reactive protein and the percentage of leukocytes segmented blood count showed a direct relationship with the phase of acute appendicitis. CONCLUSION: As for the laboratory criteria, serum C-reactive protein and assessment of the percentage of the polymorphonuclear leukocytes count were important to diagnosis and disease stratification.