Appendicitis risk prediction models in children presenting with right iliac fossa pain (RIFT study): a prospective, multicentre validation study

Prospective validation of 15 appendicitis risk models in 1827 children identified the Shera score as optimal for stratifying acute appendicitis risk. The model achieved 44% specificity with <5% failure rate, enabling safe early discharge of low-risk patients while reserving imaging for medium/high-risk cases.