Diagnostic Accuracy Rates of Appendicitis Scoring Systems for the Stratified Age Groups

BACKGROUND: Many scoring systems have been developed for acute appendicitis, which is the most common emergent disorder in surgical practice. Considering the physiological changes and chronic diseases occurring with advancing age, an applied scoring system may not produce the same score in similar patients in all age groups. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to compare the predictive values of scoring systems in different age groups. METHODS: In this prospective study, the patients operated on in our clinic with a prediagnosis of acute appendicitis between March 2020 and March 2021 were included. We divided them into three age groups as 18–45 years (group 1), 46–65 years (group 2), and >65 years (group 3). We compared the scores of the nine acute appendicitis scoring systems most commonly used in the literature for these age groups. RESULTS: A total of 203 patients were included in our study. The Alvarado scoring system yielded the most accurate results for group 1, whereas the Fenyo–Linberg scoring system was the most accurate system for group 2 and the Eskelinen scoring system for group 3. CONCLUSION: Age should be considered as a major parameter during the selection of the scoring system to be applied for patients with prediagnosis of acute appendicitis. Our study revealed the Alvarado and the Fenyo–Lindberg scoring systems as the most accurate systems for the differential diagnosis of appendicitis in the 18–45 and 46–65 years age groups, respectively. Although we found the Eskelinen scoring system as the most accurate one in the >65 years age group, the confidence intervals indicated that it may not be appropriate for use alone in this group.