Plasma pentraxin-3 level in acute appendicitis

Aim: In recent years, it has been found that plasma levels of Pentraxin-3 (PTX3) are elevated in systemic inflammatory conditions. In this study, we aimed to demonstrate the diagnostic value of PTX3 in patients with Acute Appendicitis (AA). Material and Method: This study was carried out in the general surgery clinic of Erzurum Regional Training and Research Hospital between 1st December 2015 and 31st March 2016 and included 56 patients who were diagnosed with acute appendicitis and 28 healthy controls. Results: In a comparison of the groups, mean PTX3 level in control group was 3.08 +/- 1.49 ng/mL, whereas in acute suppurative appendicitis or perforated appendicitis it was 7.96 +/- 4.29 ng/mL, indicating a significant between-group difference (P<0.0001). PTX3 level differed significantly between the control group and acute suppurative appendicitis and between the control group and perforated appendicitis (P<0.0001). However, there was no significant difference in the PTX3 levels between acute suppurative appendicitis and perforated appendicitis (P>0.05). The area under the ROC curve (AUC) for the diagnosis of acute appendicitis using PTX3 was 0.883. Discussion: PTX3 may be a potential new marker for the diagnosis of acute appendicitis because the PTX3 level is significantly higher in patients with AA.