The Impact of Pathological Criteria on Pediatric Negative Appendectomy Rate

This retrospective study of 1,435 pediatric appendectomies examines how pathological definitions impact negative appendectomy rates. Using transmural inflammation as the diagnostic criterion, the institution's NAR was 8.9%, but dropped to 4.6% when excluding cases with non-inflammatory pathological findings like fecaliths or mucosal-only inflammation.