Background: The purpose of this study is to search the role of peritoneal aspiration cytology in acute appendicitis.
Methods: Peritoneal aspiration cytology was (PAC) conducted for fifty suspected acute appendicitis patients before their operations. PAC findings was compared with histopathologic results.
Results: Negative appendicectomy rate according to clinical diagnosis was 20%. PAC was positive in 32 and negative in 18 patients. 93.75% PAC (+) patients had acute appendicitis, 44.4% PAC (-) patients had normal appendices. The false positive rate was 6.2% and the false negative rate was 55.6%. The sensitivity, the specificity, the positive predictive value, the negative predictive value of PAC for the diagnosis of acute appendicitis were 75%, 80%, 93.8%, 44.4%, respectively and the accuracy was 76%.
Conclusion: PAC positive results support the diagnosis of acute appendicitis strongly. However, PAC (-) results don't exclude the diagnosis of acute appendicitis.