DIAGNOSTIC ACCURACY OF SERUM BIOMARKERS S100A8/A9 AND ALVARADO SCORE IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF APPENDICITIS

Background and Aim : Appendicitis is one of the most common causes of patients’ attendanceto emergency department with abdominal pain. Therefore, the present research aimed toinvestigate the diagnostic accuracy of serum biomarker S100A8/A9 in diagnosis of appendicitis.Methods : The study subjects were all patients suspected of appendicitis admitted to theemergency department and they were selected through non-probability consecutive samplingtechnique. After an initial visit by an emergency medicine specialist and provision of the primarycare, if the diagnosis of acute appendicitis in the patient was confirmed, blood samples and therequired tests were taken to determine the serum level of biomarkers S100A8/A9. Moreover,Alvarado score was determined for the patient. Based on clinical findings in patients,ultrasonography was performed for the patients and, if necessary, we consulted with a surgeon.Results : In this descriptive-analytical study, 166 patients with suspected appendicitis admitted tothe emergency department were entered into the study. The mean age of the patients participa t ingin the study was 5.38±11.96 years. The average elapsed time from the onset of pain to the time ofpatient attendance was 1.14±2.52 hours (between 1 to 4 hours). Sensitivity, specificity, positivepredictive value, and negative predictive value of the biomarker were 61.9, 40.2, 39, and 63.63 %,respectively. The area under the ROC curve for the biomarker was 0.46±0.498.Conclusion : The study results indicate that the serum level of biomarkers S100A8/A9 has a lowsensitivity and specificity, therefore, along with other tests, their routine use in the diagnosis ofappendicitis is not recommended.

Keywords:

biomarker , S100A8/A9 , appendicitis , sensitivity , specificity