Diagnostic test evaluation of Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha appendicitis score in patients with acute appendicitis

Abstract

Introduction: The diagnosis of acute appendicitis is still heavy reliant on clinical judgement as the availability and quality of imaging studies are quite variable. The Alvarado score and newer scores have been proposed in recent times, one of which is the Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha Appendicitis (RIPASA) score. It has been developed for a better diagnosis of acute appendicitis; the score includes 14 clinical parameters, which have higher sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic accuracy than Alvarado scoring, especially in the Asian population. Methodology: The objective was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the RIPASA score with respect to histopathologically proven appendicitis. A diagnostic test evaluation was conducted in the surgical wards of a tertiary care centre for 1 year on patients undergoing emergency appendicectomy for acute appendicitis. Consecutive sampling was done on 132 participants. After administering the RIPASA score questionnaire to the patients, the histopathological reports were collected and the scoring system was compared to obtain sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, likelihood ratios and area under curve (AUC). Results: Of the 132 patients, 50.8% were male and 49.2% were female, with the majority of patients <40 years. Among components of the RIPASA score other than age, sex, anorexia, duration of symptoms and Rovsing's sign, all other components had an independent statistically significant association to histologically proven appendicitis. The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis of the RIPASA score showed an AUC of 0.915 (P < 0.0001). The negative appendicectomy rate was about 19.6%. Conclusion: The RIPASA score is a simple scoring system with high sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of acute appendicitis. The 14 clinical parameters are easily obtained from a good clinical history and examination and can be easily and quickly applied. Therefore, a decision on the management can be made early and complications can be prevented.