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The Use of Procalcitonin in the Diagnosis of Acute Appendicitis: A Systematic Review

Background: Acute appendicitis (AA) is one of the most common surgical pathologies. Its diagnosis is often carried out based on clinical signs and symptoms, with additional minimally invasive tests (i.e., blood testing) done to support the diagnosis. Procalcitonin (PCT) is a relatively novel biomark...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor principal: Dale, Lucy
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Cureus 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9655768/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36407148
http://dx.doi.org/10.7759/cureus.30292
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author Dale, Lucy
author_facet Dale, Lucy
author_sort Dale, Lucy
collection PubMed
description Background: Acute appendicitis (AA) is one of the most common surgical pathologies. Its diagnosis is often carried out based on clinical signs and symptoms, with additional minimally invasive tests (i.e., blood testing) done to support the diagnosis. Procalcitonin (PCT) is a relatively novel biomarker that is starting to be used by clinicians for patients admitted into hospitals with a variety of infections. Its level can be used to identify the presence of infection. The aim of this review is to assess how useful PCT is as a biomarker in supporting clinicians' assessment of patients with suspected appendicitis. Methods: A systematic literature search was carried out, yielding a total of 16 primary research papers deemed appropriate for appraisal. Results: The usefulness of PCT in aiding the diagnosis of AA depends on the severity of appendicitis. Patients who experience complicated appendicitis (CAA) such as perforation, gangrene, or necrosis have a significantly raised PCT level (p<0.05) compared to those with uncomplicated appendicitis (UAA) and a variety of other non-appendiceal intra-abdominal pathologies. Conclusions: The use of PCT in UAA is weak, however, PCT was deemed useful in helping predict CAA, thus helping portray the severity of infection. This, in turn, will help ensure patients are taken to the operating theatre in a timely and safe manner for subsequent appendicectomy.
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spelling pubmed-96557682022-11-17 The Use of Procalcitonin in the Diagnosis of Acute Appendicitis: A Systematic Review Dale, Lucy Cureus Emergency Medicine Background: Acute appendicitis (AA) is one of the most common surgical pathologies. Its diagnosis is often carried out based on clinical signs and symptoms, with additional minimally invasive tests (i.e., blood testing) done to support the diagnosis. Procalcitonin (PCT) is a relatively novel biomarker that is starting to be used by clinicians for patients admitted into hospitals with a variety of infections. Its level can be used to identify the presence of infection. The aim of this review is to assess how useful PCT is as a biomarker in supporting clinicians' assessment of patients with suspected appendicitis. Methods: A systematic literature search was carried out, yielding a total of 16 primary research papers deemed appropriate for appraisal. Results: The usefulness of PCT in aiding the diagnosis of AA depends on the severity of appendicitis. Patients who experience complicated appendicitis (CAA) such as perforation, gangrene, or necrosis have a significantly raised PCT level (p<0.05) compared to those with uncomplicated appendicitis (UAA) and a variety of other non-appendiceal intra-abdominal pathologies. Conclusions: The use of PCT in UAA is weak, however, PCT was deemed useful in helping predict CAA, thus helping portray the severity of infection. This, in turn, will help ensure patients are taken to the operating theatre in a timely and safe manner for subsequent appendicectomy. Cureus 2022-10-14 /pmc/articles/PMC9655768/ /pubmed/36407148 http://dx.doi.org/10.7759/cureus.30292 Text en Copyright © 2022, Dale et al. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Emergency Medicine
Dale, Lucy
The Use of Procalcitonin in the Diagnosis of Acute Appendicitis: A Systematic Review
title The Use of Procalcitonin in the Diagnosis of Acute Appendicitis: A Systematic Review
title_full The Use of Procalcitonin in the Diagnosis of Acute Appendicitis: A Systematic Review
title_fullStr The Use of Procalcitonin in the Diagnosis of Acute Appendicitis: A Systematic Review
title_full_unstemmed The Use of Procalcitonin in the Diagnosis of Acute Appendicitis: A Systematic Review
title_short The Use of Procalcitonin in the Diagnosis of Acute Appendicitis: A Systematic Review
title_sort use of procalcitonin in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis: a systematic review
topic Emergency Medicine
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9655768/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36407148
http://dx.doi.org/10.7759/cureus.30292
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