The accuracy of C-reactive protein in diagnosing acute appendicitis—a meta-analysis

Abstract

The aim of the study was to review the literature on the accuracy of C-reactive protein (CRP) in diagnosing acute appendicitis. All the relevant articles found by searching Medline and the Science Citation Index were reviewed. We used summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curve analysis to describe the central tendency of the studies and to assess potential sources of variability.

We included 22 articles with a total number of 3436 patients. The sensitivity ranged from 0.40 to 0.99, and the specificity from 0.27 to 0.90. The cut-off values for a positive test varied from 5 to 25 mg 1^-1. SROC curve analysis showed that CRP performed significantly better in acute abdomen populations (11 studies) than in populations already selected for appendectomy (11 studies). The diagnostic accuracy of CRP tended to be a little inferior to that of total leukocyte count (13 studies).

CRP is a test of medium accuracy in diagnosing acute appendicitis. The formerly distractingly wide range of sensitivity and specificity is at least partly due to variations in cut-off values and to differences in study populations. However, definitive conclusions on the clinical usefulness of the test could not be drawn.

Key Words:

• Diagnostic tests
• leukocyte count
• medical decision making
• review
• sensitivity and specificity
• receiver operating characteristic curve
• study validity