Accuracy of surgeon prediction of appendicitis severity in pediatric patients
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Topic overview
Abstract
Purpose
Clinical prediction of disease severity is important as one considers nonoperative management of simple appendicitis. This study assesses the accuracy of surgeons' prediction of appendicitis severity.
Methods
From February to August 2016, pediatric surgeons at a single institution were asked to predict whether patients had simple or complex appendicitis preoperatively based on clinical data, imaging, and general assessment. Receiver operating characteristic curves were generated to determine area under the curve (AUC) and optimal cutoff points of clinical findings for diagnosing simple appendicitis. Outcomes included sensitivity and specificity of variables to identify simple appendicitis. Predictions were compared to operative findings using χ2. A p-value
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