Diagnostic Performance of C Reactive Protein and Delta CRP in Acute Appendicitis

Evaluation of the Performance of C-reactive Protein (CRP) Concentrations Variation (Delta CRP) in the Diagnosis of Acute Appendicitis in the ER

Status

Completed

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Observational

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT02730585

Acronym

dCRPappend

Enrollment

500

Registered

2016-04-06

Start date

2010-01-31

Completion date

2013-12-31

Last updated

2016-09-01

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Appendicitis

Keywords

C-reactive protein

Brief summary

The diagnosis of acute appendicitis is difficult and despite important advances in medical sciences, detailed patient questioning and precise medical examination are the main keystones of the diagnosis of acute appendicitis and up to now, results still unsatisfactory.

Detailed description

Acute appendicitis is the most common surgical emergency and the most common source of community-acquired intra-abdominal infections. The lack of accuracy in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis yields often to two types of outcomes: a delay in diagnosis leads to perforation and peritonitis in up to 15% of the cases and unnecessary appendectomy is associated with post-operative complications such as wound infection and adhesions. CRP is an acute phase protein that is often used by many surgeons as a diagnostic marker of acute appendicitis. During the evaluation of patients with possible appendicitis in the emergency department (ED), repeated physical examination of the abdomen may provide further information about the decision making. However, the role of repeated laboratory examinations is not proven. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether repeated serum CRP measures could be useful to predict acute appendicitis, after 3 hours of observation, in comparison with the histopathological findings.

Interventions

BIOLOGICALC-reactive protein measurement

All patients included in this study underwent a blood sample analysis for C-reactive protein concentrations at admission and 3 hours later.

Study design

Observational model

CASE_ONLY

Time perspective

PROSPECTIVE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

10 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* age \> 8 year old * clinical suspicion of acute appendicitis including the presence of direct tenderness in the right lower quadrant, percussion and rebound tenderness, pyrexia, anorexia, nausea and vomiting.

Exclusion criteria

* patients receiving anti coagulants * pregnant women * patients using antibiotics during the study period.

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Final diagnosis of acute appendicitis	15 days from patients inclusion	The final diagnosis of acute appendicitis was based, in operated patients, on the results of the histologic examination of the excised appendix and, in non operated patients, on the absence of acute appendicitis at the 2 weeks follow-up visit.

Countries

Tunisia

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026