Development and validation of a clinical prediction rule for acute appendicitis in children in primary care

Background Recognising acute appendicitis in children presenting with acute abdominal pain in primary care is challenging. General practitioners (GPs) may benefit from a clinical prediction rule. Objectives To develop and validate a clinical prediction rule for acute appendicitis in children presenting with acute abdominal pain in primary care. Methods In a historical cohort study data was retrieved from GP electronic health records included in the Integrated Primary Care Information database. We assigned children aged 4-18 years presenting with acute abdominal pain (& LE; 7 days) to development (2010-2012) and validation (2013-2016) cohorts, using acute appendicitis within six weeks as the outcome. Multiple logistic regression was used to develop a prediction model based on predictors with > 50% data availability derived from existing rules for secondary care. We performed internal and external temporal validation and derived a point score to stratify risk of appendicitis into three groups, i.e. low-risk, medium-risk and high-risk. Results The development and validation cohorts included 2,041 and 3,650 children, of whom 95 (4.6%) and 195 (5.3%) had acute appendicitis. The model included male sex, pain duration (<24, 24-48, > 48 h), nausea/vomiting, elevated temperature (& GE; 37.3 & DEG;C), abnormal bowel sounds, right lower quadrant tenderness, and peritoneal irritation. Internal and temporal validation showed good discrimination (C-statistics: 0.93 and 0.90, respectively) and excellent calibration. In the three groups, the risks of acute appendicitis were 0.5%, 7.5%, and 41%, Conclusion Combined with further testing in the medium-risk group, the prediction rule could improve clinical decision making and outcomes.

Automated summary

This study aims to develop and validate a clinical prediction rule for diagnosing acute appendicitis in children with acute abdominal pain. A prediction model based on gender, pain duration, nausea/vomiting, elevated temperature, abnormal bowel sounds, right lower quadrant tenderness, and peritoneal irritation was established and validated using retrospective data from 2010 to 2016. The model showed good discrimination and calibration, and can be used to improve clinical decision making and outcomes.