The role of urinary 5- Hydroxyindoleacetic acid determination in diagnosis of acute appendicitis

Abstract

Background: Appendicitis is associated with high rate of wrong diagnosis. Objective. To evaluate the predictive value of 5-HIAA in diagnosis of appendicitis. Patients & Methods: Spot urine samples were collected from 147 patients with appendicitis and 45 healthy control. 5-HIAA was detected in urine samples in all patients using ELISA method. Results: The mean 5-HIAA level was 4.5 umol/mmol creatinine in healthy individuals, 5.8 umol/mmol creatinine in wrongly diagnosed appendicitis, and 15.7 umol/mmol creatinine in patients with appendicitis. The difference between patients group with appendicitis and other 2 groups was statistically highly significant [P<0.001], However, the difference between the normal individuals group and wrongly diagnosed group was statistically non significant. The test had 81% sensitivity and 85 specificity. Conclusion: This study indicated that determination of 5-HIAA as non- invasive test was with predictive value in diagnosis of appendicitis. Thus reducing the malpractice in surgical operation in Iraqi community.