THE POLYMORPHONUCLEAR LEUCOCYTE COUNT AS AN AID TO THE DIAGNOSIS OF ACUTE APPENDICITIS

Abstract

Case records of children subjected to appendicectomy with the diagnosis of acute appendicitis and children admitted for observation of suspected appendicitis at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh in the years 1965‐1967 inclusive were reviewed and their preoperative white‐cell counts studied. The “normal appendix rate” was 9%. The incidence of “complicated appendicitis” was 32%. Seven children with acute appendicitis were observed for a day or more before appendicectomy, and three had complicated appendicitis (two gangrenous, one with peritonitis). The polymorphonuclear count is an important adjunct in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis, but is by no means diagnostic. There was no correlation between the level of the count and the duration of symptoms or the severity of the pathological process.