Ishtiaq Ahmed Chaudhary, Rana Muhammad Ajmal, Babar Mumtaz, Rizwan Maqsood.
Cough Sign: Reliability in the diagnosis of Acute Appendicitis.
J Coll Physicians Surg Pak Jan ;12(9):546-8.

Objective: The study was conducted to assess the reliability of cough sign in addition to other clinical parameters in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis. Design: A prospective study. Place and Duration of Study: Study was conducted over a period of one year at Surgical Unit-V of Fauji Foundation Hospital, Rawalpindi. Patients and Methods: Eighty-one patients with provisional diagnosis of acute appendicitis were evaluated on the basis of `Cough Sign`. All the patients with positive cough signs were subjected to appendectomy and the patients with negative cough signs were kept under observation in the ward. Other clinical signs and symptoms were also recorded, carefully analyzed and compared with the cough sign in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis. Results: Inflamed appendix was found in all patients with positive cough sign and none of the patient with negative cough sign required appendectomy during observation period. Conclusion: Cough is a reliable sign in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis along with the other clinical parameters, so it can be added in the Alvarado scoring system for the diagnosis of acute appendicitis.

USER COMMENTS

It is well known test whichwas even told us in 1980 when I was in final year of M.B.B.S and it is of gret help in diagnosing Appendicitus (Acute one)
Posted by: afzal on Nov 2002

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