Appendicitis Diagnosis

To reach the diagnosis of appendicitis the doctor will have to perform a thorough physical examination and order a number of laboratory tests such as blood tests, urine analysis, chest X-ray and an abdominal ultrasound.

Physical examination looks for tenderness in the right lower side of the tummy. Blood tests might reveal a high white blood cell count(WBC) and urinalysis is used to rule out any urinary infection.

In women of reproductive age, a pregnancy test should also be ordered to rule out any ectopic pregnancy. Abdominal imaging(ultrasound) may be used to rule out any other common conditions especially in women, such as Pelvic Inflammatory Disease, rupture of ovarian cyst, endometriosis etc.