Alvarado Score for Acute Appendicitis

Clinical Context

The Alvarado score, originally described in 1986, is a 10-point clinical scoring system used to diagnose acute appendicitis. It relies heavily on clinical history and basic laboratory tests. While highly sensitive, it is not perfectly specific, meaning a low score effectively rules out appendicitis, but a high score still requires clinical correlation.

Assumptions & Caveats

• Calculators are aids, not substitutes for clinical judgement.
• Scores must be correlated with patient history and imaging where appropriate.
• Not validated for pediatric populations under 12 years unless explicitly stated.