Evaluation of the appendix during diagnostic laparoscopy, the laparoscopic appendicitis score: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Diagnostic laparoscopy is the ultimate diagnostic tool to evaluate the appendix. Still, according to the literature, this strategy results in a negative appendectomy rate of approximately 12-18 % and associated morbidity. Laparoscopic criteria for determining appendicitis are lacking. The goal of this study is to define clear and reliable criteria for appendicitis during diagnostic laparoscopy that eventually may safely reduce the negative appendectomy rate. METHODS: From December 2009 through April 2011, 134 patients were included and analysed in a single-centre prospective pilot study. Intraoperatively, the appendix was evaluated by the surgeon according to nine criteria for appendicitis. The operating surgeon decided whether it should be removed or not. Immediately after the operation the surgeon had to complete a questionnaire on nine criteria for appendicitis. All removed appendices were examined by a pathologist. In case the appendix was not removed, the clinical postoperative course was decisive for the (missed) presence of appendicitis. RESULTS: In 109 cases an inflamed appendix was removed; in 25 patients the appendix was normal, 3 of which had been removed. After univariate analysis and clinical judgement six variables were included in the Laparoscopic APPendicitis score (LAPP score). In this study, use of the LAPP score would have led to a positive predictive value of 99 % and a negative predictive value of 100 %. CONCLUSIONS: This study presents the LAPP score. The LAPP score is an easily applicable score that can be used by surgeons to evaluate the appendix during diagnostic laparoscopy. The score has high positive and negative predictive value. The LAPP score needs to be validated in a multicentre validation study.

Reducing the negative appendectomy rate with the laparoscopic appendicitis score; a multicenter prospective cohort and validation study.

BACKGROUND: Approximately nine percent of all acute appendectomies are unintentionally performed on a normal appendix. Failure of treatment (negative appendectomy or missed appendicitis) is associated with higher morbidity and mortality when compared to appendectomy for uncomplicated appendicitis. The Laparoscopic APPendicitis (LAPP) score was developed in order to systematically evaluate the appendix for the presence of inflammation. This study aims to determine whether the LAPP score reduces the negative appendectomy rate without missing appendicitis. METHODS: From September 2013 through May 2016, 322 adult patients presenting with a clinical suspicion of acute appendicitis and an indication for diagnostic laparoscopy were included and analyzed in this multicenter prospective validation study. Depending on the LAPP score, the appendix was either removed (n = 300) or left in situ (n = 22). These patients were compared to a historical control group of 584 patients treated at the same hospitals. The appendix was examined by a pathologist and the negative appendectomy rate was calculated. RESULTS: The negative appendectomy rate was significantly lower when the LAPP score was used (4,7% vs. 8,4%; P = 0,034). None of the patients with a negative LAPP score, in which the appendix remained in situ, developed acute appendicitis within three months. There were no significant differences in operation time, complications, or readmissions. Using the LAPP score was associated with significantly higher rates of preoperative radiological imaging (98% vs. 70%; P < 0,001). After adjusting for covariables, including radiological imaging, use of the LAPP score led to fewer treatment failures when compared to not using the LAPP score (OR: 0,48, 95% C.I. 0,251 to 0,914; P = 0,025). CONCLUSION: The LAPP score is a safe and simple tool to reduce the negative appendectomy rate during laparoscopic surgery without missing cases of acute appendicitis.

[Laparoscopic evaluation of the appendix]. / Laparoscopische beoordeling van de appendix.

In the Netherlands every year about 16,000 appendectomies are carried out. Despite the increase in preoperative radiological evaluation of the appendix, the negative appendectomy rate is still around 16%, with a morbidity of approximately 5%. The Dutch practice guideline on appendicitis states that a normal appendix should not be removed, although laparoscopic criteria to establish appendicitis are lacking. Retrospective analysis of negative appendectomies shows that in 51% of cases the surgeon was convinced the appendix was inflamed. Furthermore, in an online survey, 78% of responding Dutch surgeons stated that if good and reproducible criteria for identifying appendicitis during laparoscopy were available they would use them. In conclusion, laparoscopic evaluation of the appendix is not always easy and use of the laparoscopic appendicitis score (LAPP) might lead to fewer negative appendectomies with their associated morbidity. Surgeons should be more aware of the morbidity associated with a negative appendectomy.