Background: Acute appendicitis in the pediatric population remains a diagnostic challenge for clinicians. Despite many biochemical markers, imaging modalities and scoring systems, initial misdiagnosis and complication rates are high in children. This suggests the need for investigations directed towards new diagnostic tools to aid in the diagnosis. Recent studies have shown a correlation between serum sodium levels and complicated appendicitis. Although the exact reasons for hyponatremia in patients with complicated appendicitis are not known, there is persuasive data to support the role of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6 in the non-osmotic release of antidiuretic hormone. This meta-analysis aims to investigate all available data on hyponatremia as a diagnostic marker of complicated appendicitis in the pediatric population. Methods: The literature search was conducted by two independent investigators according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The scientific databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Scopus) were systematically searched for relevant studies using the keywords (hyponatremia) AND (appendicitis) AND (children). The methodological quality was assessed using a validated scale, and RevMan 5.4 software was utilized for pooled analysis. Results: Seven studies were included in the final meta-analysis, five of which were retrospective. A total of 1615 and 2808 cases were distributed into two groups: group A with complicated appendicitis and group B with uncomplicated acute appendicitis, respectively. The studies compared serum sodium levels of patients among the groups. Pooling the data demonstrated significantly lower serum sodium levels in children with complicated appendicitis vs. the non-complicated appendicitis (WMD: −3.29, 95% CI = −4.52 to −2.07, p < 0.00001). The estimated heterogeneity among the included studies was substantial and statistically significant (I2 = 98%, p < 0.00001). Conclusion: The results of the present meta-analysis indicate that hyponatremia has potential to be utilized as a biochemical marker in the diagnosis of complicated appendicitis in the pediatric population. However, well designed prospective diagnostic efficiency studies are essential to consolidate the association between hyponatremia and complicated acute appendicitis.

Background: The main goal of the present randomized clinical trial was to investigate the effects of subcutaneous administration of two different local anesthetics at trocar incision sites at the abdominal wall in combination with intraoperative intraperitoneal instillation of local anesthetics, on the character of postoperative pain, in adolescents who underwent laparoscopic varicocelectomy. Methods: A total of 60 patients with a median age of 16 years, who received laparoscopic varicocele repair, were included in this randomized clinical trial. The patients were randomly assigned to three study groups receiving 2% lidocaine, 0.5% levobupivacaine, or the control group. The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) was used by a blinded nurse at four different time points (2, 6, 12 and 24 h after the surgery) to measure pain intensity. Results: The significant effect of time on the pain intensity (p = 0.001) was found. Additionally, the interaction between time and different local analgesics (p < 0.001) was observed. In patients in whom 0.5% levobupivacaine has been used, significantly lower VAS pain scores were recorded at each time point assessed, in comparison with the patients who received 2% lidocaine or the patients from the control group in whom no local anesthetic was applied (p < 0.001). Furthermore, in patients in whom 2% lidocaine was administrated, significantly lower pain levels according to VAS were reported than in those from the control group, except for the time point at 24 h after surgery when pain levels were comparable. Concerning the postoperative pain control, the number of patients who requested oral analgesics postoperatively was significantly lower in the group of patients in whom local anesthetic was administrated intraoperatively (2% lidocaine—n = 4, 20%; 0.5% levobupivacaine—n = 1, 5%) compared to the patients who did not receive any local anesthetic during the surgery (n = 13; 65%) (p < 0.001). Conclusion: A significant reduction in postoperative pain intensity and analgesics consumption in patients undergoing laparoscopic varicocelectomy who received intraoperative local anesthetic was observed. The best effect on postoperative pain intensity, according to the VAS score, was achieved by 0.5% levobupivacaine.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of leucine-rich α-2-glycoprotein 1 (LRG1) in saliva as a novel biomarker for acute appendicitis in the pediatric population. From October 2021 to June 2022, 92 children aged 5 to 17 years who presented with acute abdomen and suspected acute appendicitis were enrolled in this prospective study. The parameters documented included demographic and clinical information, as well as operative and postoperative data. Patients were divided into two groups: those with acute appendicitis who underwent laparoscopic appendectomy (n = 46) and those without appendicitis (n = 46). The total white blood cell (WBC) count, percent of neutrophils, C-reactive protein (CRP) level, and salivary LRG1 were compared between groups. A commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) LRG kit was used to measure the LRG levels. The median salivary LRG1 level was significantly higher in the group of children with pathohistologically confirmed acute appendicitis compared to the control group: 233.45 ng/mL (IQR 114.9, 531.2) vs. 55.95 ng/mL (IQR 51.5, 117.9), p < 0.001. LRG1 had an overall good receiver-operator characteristic area under the curve of 0.85 (95% CI 0.76–0.92; p < 0.001). The optimal LRG1 cutoff with best separation between acute appendicitis and the controls was >352.6 ng/mL (95% CI from >270.7 to >352.6). Although the specificity was 100% at this cutoff, the sensitivity for identifying appendicitis was 36%. In addition, a significant difference was found between groups in the laboratory values of all inflammatory markers tested: WBC, absolute neutrophil count, and CRP (p < 0.001 for all). Although LRG1 in saliva showed a good AUC parameter and significantly higher values in patients with acute appendicitis compared to the controls, its usefulness in the patient population who present at emergency departments with abdominal pain is debatable. Future studies should focus on investigating its diagnostic potential.

Purpose: The aim of this study is to assess the diagnostic utility of serum leucine-rich α-2-glycoprotein 1 (LRG1) in pediatric patients with acute abdominal pain, admitted to the emergency surgical unit, in order to make a prompt and accurate diagnosis of acute appendicitis. Patients and methods: Pediatric patients older than 5 years of age who presented to the emergency department from 15 October 2021 to 30 June 2022 with acute abdominal pain and suspected acute appendicitis were prospectively recruited in the study. Demographic and clinical data, as well as operative and postoperative data, were recorded. A total of 92 patients were equally distributed into two groups: children with acute appendicitis who underwent laparoscopic appendectomy and non-appendicitis patients, presenting with non-specific abdominal pain. LRG1 levels were determined using a commercially available LRG1 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. Serum LRG1 levels, as well as other inflammatory markers (white blood cell count (WBC), C-reactive protein (CRP) and absolute neutrophil count) were compared between groups. Results: The median level of LRG1 in serum was significantly higher in the group of children with pathohistologically confirmed acute appendicitis than in the control group, at 350.3 µg/mL (interquartile range (IQR) 165.2–560.3) and 25.7 µg/mL (IQR 14.7–36.8) (p < 0.001), respectively. Receiver operating characteristic area under the curve for LRG1 from serum was 1.0 (95% CI 0.96–1.00; p < 0.001) and the value of >69.1 µg/mL was found to perfectly separate acute appendicitis cases from controls. Additionally, as expected, each of the examined laboratory inflammatory markers provided a significantly higher values in the acute appendicitis group compared to the control group: WBC 14.6 × 109/L (IQR 12.7, 18.7) vs. 7.0 × 109/L (IQR 5.4, 9.0) (p < 0.001), CRP 16.3 mg/dL (IQR 6.9, 50.4) vs. 2.2 mg/dL (IQR 2, 2) (p < 0.001) and absolute neutrophil count 84.6% (IQR 79.5, 89.0) vs. 59.5% (IQR 51.5, 68.6) (p < 0.001). Conclusions: LRG1 in the serum was found to be a promising novel biomarker, with excellent differentiation of acute appendicitis from non-appendicitis cases in children presenting with non-specific abdominal pain.

Aim: Systematic reviews (SRs) are frequently inconclusive. The aim of this study was to analyze factors associated with conclusiveness of SRs about efficacy and safety of interventions for neuropathic pain (NeuP). Materials & methods: The study protocol was registered in the PROSPERO database (No. CRD42015025831). Five electronic databases (Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Cumulative Index for Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects and Psychological Information Database) were searched until July 2018 for SRs about NeuP management. Conclusion statements for efficacy and safety, and characteristics of SRs were analyzed. Conclusiveness was defined as explicit statement by the SR authors that one intervention is better/similar to the other in terms of efficacy and safety. Methodological quality of SRs was assessed with the AMSTAR (A MeaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews) tool. Results: Of 160 SRs, 37 (23%) were conclusive for efficacy and/or safety. In the SRs, conclusions about safety were missing in half of the analyzed abstracts, and a third of the full texts. Conclusive SRs included significantly more trials and participants, searched more databases, had more authors, conducted meta-analysis, analyzed quality of evidence, and had lower methodological quality than inconclusive SRs. The most common reasons for the lack of conclusiveness indicated by the SR authors were the small number of participants and trials, and the high heterogeneity of included studies. Conclusion: Most SRs about NeuP treatment were inconclusive. Sources of inconclusiveness of NeuP reviews need to be further studied, and SR authors need to provide conclusions about both safety and efficacy of interventions.