Muhammad Salman Rafiq, Mah Muneer Khan, Attaullah Khan, Hizullah Jan.
Receiver Operator Characteristic Curve Analysis of the Lintula Score for Reduction of Negative Appendectomies in Adults.
J Coll Physicians Surg Pak Dec ;25(2):100-3.

Objective: To evaluate the Lintula score in reducing negative appendectomies in the adult population. Study Design: Descriptive analytical study. Place and Duration of Study: Surgical Department, Khyber Teaching Hospital, Peshawar, Pakistan, from August 2012 to April 2014. Methodology: A total of 408 emergency patients with a clinical diagnosis of acute appendicitis were included in the study. True or negative appendectomy status was determined per-operatively. Lintula score was calculated afterwards and evaluated for various cut-off points. Results: Among the study population, 72 (17.6%) had a normal appendix by operative assessment and 336 (82.4%) had an acutely inflammed appendix. The receiver operating characteristic curve showed that the optimal cut-off point was ≤ 21 with 100% sensitivity, 88.4% specificity and positive and negative predictive values of 97.3% and 100%, respectively. Area under the curve was 0.963 with 90.4% overall accuracy. Conclusion: Utilizing the Lintula cut-off point of ≤ 21, negative appendectomies, unnecessary admissions and healthcare cost can all be reduced.

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