Validation of the Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha Appendicitis (RIPASA) scoring system for the diagnosis of acute appendicitis among Ethiopian patients: a multi-institutional observational study.

BACKGROUND: Acute appendicitis is the most common surgical emergency in Ethiopian clinical practice. Although a multitude of scoring systems have been used in clinical practice, none have been universally validated. The purpose of this study was to validate the Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha Appendicitis (RIPASA) scoring system in the Ethiopian context. METHODS: A total of 315 consecutive patients who presented with a presumptive diagnosis of acute appendicitis and were planned to undergo appendectomy were studied. All the studied patients had diagnostic sonography and underwent the RIPASA scoring system. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of RIPASA and ultrasound results with intraoperative gross examinations. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 27.4 ± 11.5 years, with a male-to-female ratio of 1.6:1. The concordance between ultrasound and RIPASA for the diagnosis of acute appendicitis was 93.6%. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of RIPASA were 96.2%, 30.8%, 93.9%, and 42.1%, respectively. Similarly, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of ultrasound were 95.3%, 27.8%, 95.6%, and 26.3%, respectively. White cell count and RIPASA scores were weakly correlated with intraoperative stages of acute appendicitis, r(313) = 0.18, p = 0.001, and r(313) = 0.129, p = 0.022, respectively. The rate of a negative appendectomy was 6%. CONCLUSION: RIPASA and ultrasound had equivalent performance in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis. In both cases, the rate of negative appendectomy was low enough to validate RIPASA for clinical practice in low-income institutions where sonographic diagnosis by a conventionally trained radiologist is not available.

Free intraperitoneal air in infected pancreatic necrosis with intraperitoneal rupture: A rare presentation of a complex diseases.

Key Clinical Message: Among the multitude of causes for acute abdomen patients presenting with free intraperitoneal air, one almost never finds infected pancreatic necrosis as one of the culprits. In patients with risk factors for acute pancreatitis presenting with generalized peritonitis with free intraperitoneal air, consideration should be given to this often deadly entity. Abstract: Acute pancreatitis is a morbid acute abdominal pathology that has been increasing in incidence in recent years. Most patients have a mild disease and treated medically, while a few proportion require interventional procedures. We present the case of a 39-year-old male patient who presented with progressive abdominal pain, vomiting, and yellowish discoloration of the eyes. The abdominal condition progressed to the point where clinical signs became consistent with generalized peritonitis and an x-ray finding of free intraperitoneal air. The patient underwent exploratory laparotomy with intraoperative findings of intraperitoneal rupture of infected pancreatic necrosis with intraperitoneal purulent collection. He was managed with necrosectomy and discharged improved after intensive care and general ward stay.