Monocyte Distribution Width; Can It Be Used as an Early Diagnosis Marker in Cases of Acute Complicated Appendicitis? A Preliminary Study

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of monocyte distribution width in both the diagnosis of acute appendicitis (AA) and in differentiating between simple appendicitis (SA) and complicated appendicitis (CA). MaTERıaL anD METhOD:This study was conducted using data from 107 adult patients who underwent appendectomy. Demographic details, preoperative white blood cell (WBC) count, immature granulocyte count (IG) and percentage (IG %), monocyte distribution width (MDW), neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and pathology results were evaluated retrospectively. Patients were grouped as AA and normal appendix (NA) according to the pathology reports, and the AA cases were divided into SA and CA groups according to the intraoperative findings.RESULTS: WBC, IG, IG%, NLR and MDW values were found to be statistically significant for the differentiation of acute appendicitis from normal appendicitis cases (p < 0.05). Of these parameters, the strongest parameter for the diagnosis of AA was NLR (sensitivity: 76%, specificity: 89%, p< 0.001). The IG value was found to be statistically significant in the diagnosis of complicated appendicitis cases (p < 0.05) COnCLUSıOn:The MDW value is a fast, reliable and easily accessible parameter in the diagnosis of AA. However, although MDW values were found to be high in CA cases in the differentiation of SA and CA, they were not statistically significant. More comprehensive studies are needed for a clearer assessment.