The first steps in order to determine whether a patient has appendicitis or not are the patient's medical history and a physical series of exams. The abdominal lower right portion has a great sensitivity when it is pressed and the patient may also have increased fever. If the pain gets worse in the moment of releasing pressure, it means that infection got to the peritoneum causing rebound sensitivity.
Leucocytes Count
The number of leucocytes inside human body increases in case of infection. This increase is produced in different degrees following the stages of inflammation. This is not a specific situation for appendicitis, also occurring in case of other diseases so that this method is not enough to give a diagnosis so that other tests are necessary in addition.
The analysis of urine
By means of the microscope, the composition of urine is analyzed to establish whether besides leucocytes and red blood cells there are also bacteria. But this procedure is not recommended in case of inflammation or affection of the kidneys or bladder, because it looses accuracy. Diseases of the urinary system can often be confused with appendicitis and it is also possible for urine to appear normal in case of appendicitis.
Abdominal X-Ray
For children, X-ray scan proved itself very effective in the identification of faeces that block the appendix, this method having sometimes the same good results in diagnosing appendicitis in adults.
Ultrasound
This procedure implies the identification of internal organs by means of sound waves, but the appendix is perceived only in half of the cases. The impossibility to perceive this structure doesn't necessarily exclude the possibility of inflammation. Ultrasound is more effective in women because of its capacity to identify ovarian or fallopian tubes problems that can be taken for appendicitis.
Barium Enema
This method uses an insertion of liquid barium through the anus to fill the large intestine. This test usually identifies modifications of colon's shape that might suggest an inflammation and also the presence of other affections such as Crohn's disease.
CT scan
Besides the cases of pregnancy CT scan is very effective in identifying a possible abscess and excluding the possibility of other conditions with similarly symptoms to those of appendicitis.
Laparoscopy
Through a small camera attached to a thin tube inserted in the abdominal region, a general view of the internal organs, including the appendix in obtained. This method is very useful because it also provides the possibility of immediate surgery but it requires general anaesthesia.
No test can tell for sure whether the patient has appendicitis or not, so, in case of suspicion, the patient has to be supervised by a doctor for a while, take one or more of the tests above or have a surgical intervention.
By: Sebastian Bunten -