Published in:
01-11-2014 | Original Article
Hyperfibrinogenemia in appendicitis: a new predictor of perforation in children
Published in: Pediatric Surgery International | Issue 11/2014
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Purpose
Acute
appendicitis is the most common emergency abdominal inflammation requiring operation in children. As an acute-phase protein, plasma fibrinogen always increases with inflammation or tissue necrosis. This had brought about the assumption that hyperfibrinogenemia in patients with appendicitis may have a predictive ability for the preoperative diagnosis of appendiceal. Aim of this retrospective study was to assess the diagnostic value of hyperfibrinogenemia as a preoperative laboratory marker for appendiceal perforation in children with acute appendicitis.
Methods
We screened 466 children (168 girls, 298 boys, mean age, 7.6 years) with histologically confirmed acute appendicitis who received laparoscopic or open appendectomy between January 2012 and April 2014 in a pediatric surgery department of an academic teaching hospital. A retrospective review of the medical records including appendiceal perforation rate and laboratory results was conducted.
Results
Mean plasma fibrinogen level of all patients was 4.89 g/L (SD 1.74 g/L, range 1.94–15 g/L, median 4.61 mg/dL). Children with appendiceal perforation had a mean fibrinogen level of 6.18 g/L (SD 1.83 g/L, range 3.02–15 g/L, median 5.79 g/L), which was significantly higher than those with non-perforated children (P = 0.0001). The specificity of hyperfibrinogenemia for appendiceal perforation was 0.82 in comparison with 0.25 for white blood count (WBC) and 0.34 for C-reactive protein (CRP). Sensitivity was 0.74 compared with 0.76 for WBC and 0.94 for CRP.
Conclusion
Children with hyperfibrinogenemia and clinical symptoms of appendicitis may be regarded as a higher risk of appendiceal perforation than whose fibrinogen level is normal.