Comparing the Diagnostic Accuracy of AIR and Alvarado Scores in Acute Appendicitis

Background: Acute appendicitis (AA) is one of the most common causes of an acute abdomen.Clinical scoring systems, such as the Alvarado and Acute inflammatory response (AIR) score, were developed with the goal of reducing the negative appendectomy rate.Though the Alvarado scoring system is widely used, differences in diagnostic accuracy have been observed when applied to varied populations.Methods: This study aims to compare the diagnostic accuracy of the Alvarado and Acute Inflammatory Response AIR scoring systems in diagnosing acute appendicitis in an Indian population.A prospective analysis was conducted on 77 patients with right iliac fossa pain, applying both scoring systems and correlating postoperative pathology reports.Results: The AIR score showed a sensitivity of 74.29 and correctly classified 76.62 of confirmed appendicitis cases, while the Alvarado score had a sensitivity of 65.71 and classified 68.83 accurately.Both scores had 100 specificity.The findings suggest that the AIR score has better diagnostic accuracy compared to the Alvarado score.Conclusion: The AIR scoring system had more sensitivity, better NPV compared with Alvarado score while both the scores had same specificity and PPV.