Comparison of Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha Appendicitis and modified Alvarado scoring systems in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis.

Background: The diagnosis of acute appendicitis (AA) is mainly dependent on clinical evaluation. There are several scoring systems developed for an accurate and early diagnosis of AA. Modified Alvarado score is one of the most common systems. The Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha Appendicitis (RIPASA) scoring system was developed in 2010. The aim of this study is to evaluate and compare the accuracy of modified Alvarado and RIPASA scoring systems for the diagnosis of AA.

Methods: A total of 100 cases with the clinical diagnosis of AA were included in the study. All the cases were treated surgically. For all cases, modified Alvarado and RIPASA scores were calculated and recorded. According to the calculated cut-off values, sensitivity, specificity, negative and positive predictive values and total accuracy were calculated for each scoring systems.

Results: According to the receiver operating characteristic curve. the optimal score of modified Alvarado score for AA was found to be 5.5 with a sensitivity of 88% and specificity of 69%. According to the receiver operating characteristic curve, the optimal score of RIPASA score for AA was found to be 8.75 with a sensitivity of 94% and specificity of 88%. With the cut-off value of 8.75, total accuracy of RIPASA scoring was found to be 85.2%. Although there is no significant difference in negative appendicectomy rate, both sensitivity and the specificity of the RIPASA were found to be significantly higher than the modified Alvarado.

Conclusion: According to the current study, RIPASA scoring system was found to be superior to modified Alvarado in the prediction of cases with AA.