Utilidad del índice Neutrófilo Linfocito para el diagnóstico de apendicitis aguda complicada y no complicada en pacientes mayores de 18 años del Hospital General HOSNAG, periodo de enero 2017 hasta mayo 2024.

Abstract

Acute appendicitis is a common surgical emergency with an incidence of 7% and a perforation rate of 20%. Early diagnosis of complicated vs. uncomplicated acute appendicitis remains a challenge. This study sought to determine the usefulness of the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) to diagnose complicated and uncomplicated acute appendicitis in patients over 18 years of age at the Hospital General HOSNAG in Ecuador. A retrospective and cross-sectional methodology was used, with a population of 121 patients, to calculate the threshold value of the NLR using the ROC curve. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative likelihood ratios with a 95% confidence interval were also calculated to determine the usefulness of the NLR. Of the 121 patients included, 34.71% were found to have complicated acute appendicitis and 65.28% had uncomplicated acute appendicitis. The NLR threshold value in the study population was 9.3, with a sensitivity of 50% and specificity of 67.1% for identifying complicated acute appendicitis. It was concluded that NLR is not a useful test for diagnosing complicated and uncomplicated acute appendicitis at HOSNAG General Hospital because it has low sensitivity and specificity.