What is important to the GP in recognizing acute appendicitis in children: a delphi study

BMC Primary Care

Table 3 Final ranked consensus on physical assessments, signs, and additional tests

Feature	Requirement
Feature	Examine	Record present	Record absent	Record finding
Sign
General appearance	100
Drowsiness		100
Ill appearance		100	96
Jaundice		96
Palpation	100
Location of tenderness				100
Guarding		100	77
Peritoneal irritation		100	77
Abdominal mass		100
Tenderness		96	82
Rebound tenderness		96	73
Fecal mass		96
Measurement of temperature	96			100
Have location of pain pointed out	96
Difficulty walking	82	73
Inability to walk	82	86
Auscultation	82
Normal bowel sounds			100
Inspection	77
Presence of scars		77
Abdominal distension		82
Purpura		96
Percussion	77
Tenderness on percussion		82
Jaundice		96
Scrotal swelling/tenderness		96
Psoas sign		86
Purpura		86
Summarize as “abdomen completely soft without tenderness”				86
Additional test
Urinalysis	94
CRP-POCT	77			91

Abbreviations: CRP, C-reactive protein; POCT, Point-of-care testing
The 10 requirements in bold are considered important when all items are negative. Figures represent consensus percentages (≥ 70%)

ISSN: 2731-4553