A comparison of the accuracy of Tzanakis and Alvarado Score in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Acute appendicitis is one of the most commonly encountered surgical emergencies on a global level. Due to the requirement of an immediate clinical diagnosis and the presence of limited resources, clinicians and diagnosticians refer to scoring systems to diagnose this condition, among which Alvarado and Tzanakis scoring systems are widely used. This meta-analysis aims to compare the diagnostic accuracy of these two systems. METHODS: We searched PubMed, Google Scholar, and SCOPUS databases. All studies that reported diagnostic parameters of Alvarado and Tzanakis scores in patients with suspected acute appendicitis were selected. Diagnostic values such as sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and diagnostic accuracy were extracted from the selected studies and statistical analysis was performed with Meta Disc 1.4 software. Quality assessment of the selected studies was performed using the QUADAS-2 and QUADAS-C tools. Fourteen studies were included in our meta-analysis which enrolled 2235 patients. RESULTS: The overall sensitivity of the Tzanakis score was calculated as 0.86 (95% CI; 0.84-00.87) while the specificity was 0.73 (95% CI; 0.69-0.78). In addition, the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.9261 (SE; 0.0169) and the diagnostic Odds Ratio (OR) was 22.52 (95% CI; 9.47-53.56). The pooled sensitivity of Alvarado score was 0.67 (95% CI; 0.65-0.69) and the specificity was 0.74 (95% CI; 0.69-0.79). Moreover, the area under the curve (AUC) of the Alvarado score was 0.7389 (SE; 0.0489) and the diagnostic Odds Ratio was 4.92 (95% CI; 2.48-9.75). INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSION: The Tzanakis scoring system has a higher sensitivity, area under the curve, and diagnostic odds ratio when compared to the Alvarado score. However, the Alvarado score has a marginally better specificity making it more reliable in excluding acute appendicitis.

Effectiveness of a strategy to reduce major vascular complications from catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation.

INTRODUCTION: Vascular access site complications are among the most frequently observed complications after catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF). We sought to determine whether implementation of a three-point strategy would reduce major vascular complications resulting from catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation. METHODS: Three hundred twenty-four consecutive patients undergoing catheter ablation of AF were studied: 162 in each group (with and without the test strategy). The three-point test strategy included the following: (1) performing the procedure on Warfarin with an INR from 2.0 to 3.5 (mean INR of 2.44), rather than stopping Warfarin prior to the procedure and bridging the patient back to Warfarin with low molecular heparin, (2) using a small 21 G needle to obtain femoral vein access rather than a larger 18 G needle, and (3) eliminating the use of femoral arterial access. Major vascular complications were defined as complications requiring either blood transfusion or surgical/percutaneous repair. RESULTS: Major vascular complications were identified in 6/162 (3.7%) of the control patients without the strategy listed above compared to 0/162 (0%) in the test patients with implementations of this strategy (p = 0.03). The frequency of other complications was comparable between the two groups (tamponade requiring drainage: 1/162 control, 1/162 test; pericardial effusion not requiring drainage: 0/162 control, 1/162 test; transient ischemic attack: 1/162 control and 1/162 test; stroke: 1/162 control, 0/162 test): (p = NS for each). CONCLUSIONS: A three-point strategy including performing procedures with therapeutic Warfarin, using a small gauge needle to obtain vascular access and eliminating femoral arterial access significantly reduced major vascular access complications and did not affect other major complications, during catheter ablation of AF. Implementation of this strategy may be useful to reduce groin complications resulting from AF ablation.

Community acquired pneumonia.

Community acquired pneumonia is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The American Thoracic Society, Infectious Disease Society of America and the British Thoracic Society have furnished very comprehensive guidelines for the evaluation and management of this disease. This article reviews and summarizes the important issues in the etiology, diagnosis and community acquired pneumonia.

Ultrasound assessment of internal derangement of the knee.

In a prospective double-blind study we investigated internal knee disorders with ultrasound and compared the results with Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and arthroscopy. The aim was to determine the effectiveness of ultrasound in diagnosing Internal Derangement of the Knee (IDK) and to compare the results with MRI. Over an 18-months period, 81 patients were examined. All were male; they had a mean age of 35 years. For various technical reasons 21 patients were subsequently excluded from the study. After initial clinical examinations, patients had an ultrasound and MRI scan at the same visit. Arthroscopy was performed within a month of this. Different radiologists who were unaware of the clinical findings independently reported on the ultrasound and MRI. The surgeon performing the arthroscopy was made aware only of the MRI findings. Structures accessed were the lateral and medial menisci and the anterior (ACL) and posterior (PCL) cruciate ligaments. Arthroscopy was taken as the gold standard. Ultrasound showed good sensitivity, ranging from 76% for the ACL to 90% for the medial meniscus, and excellent specificity, ranging from 92% for the medial meniscus to 100% for the ACL. Accuracy ranged from 86% for the ACL to 98% for the lateral meniscus. These figures were comparable to the MRI findings. We concluded that ultrasound is a simple, accurate, inexpensive and non-invasive way of assessing internal knee disorders. There is a learning curve, but results are similar to MRI.

A case of Mycobacterium avium complex pulmonary disease in an immunocompetent host.

Mycobacterium avium complex is the most common of nontuberculous mycobacterium capable of causing disease in humans. The manifestations can vary from asymptomatic exposure to hypersensitivity pneumonitis to advanced fibrocavitary disease. We describe the case of a 37-year-old male with advanced cavitary disease from Mycobacterium avium complex. The patient had no previous history of pulmonary disease, but did have a history of snorting crushed Lortab (hydrocodone/acetaminophen) tablets and we postulate that possible injury to the lung from talc or other chemicals in the tablets may have predisposed him to develop Mycobacterium avium pulmonary disease.