Diagnostic value of leukocytosis in patients presenting to the emergency department with abdominal pain: A retrospective observational study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.71152/ajms.v16i7.4600Keywords:
Leukocytosis; Abdominal pain; Emergency department; Surgical intervention; White blood cell count; Diagnostic accuracyAbstract
Background: Abdominal pain is one of the most common complaints in emergency departments (EDs) and poses diagnostic challenges due to its broad differential diagnosis. Leukocytosis is frequently used as a biomarker in clinical evaluation; however, its diagnostic value in predicting surgical conditions remains unclear.
Aims and Objectives: This study aimed to assess the diagnostic value of leukocytosis in patients presenting to the ED with abdominal pain and determine its relationship with the need for surgical intervention.
Materials and Methods: This retrospective, cross-sectional study was conducted at Esenyurt Necmi Kadıoğlu State Hospital ED, analyzing medical records of adult patients presenting with abdominal pain between January 1, 2023, and December 31, 2024. Patients were categorized based on white blood cell (WBC) count into four groups. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of leukocytosis in predicting surgical needs were calculated. Statistical analyses included receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, Chi-square tests, and logistic regression modeling.
Results: A total of 750 patients were included in the final analysis. Leukocytosis was observed in 59.7% of patients. Surgical intervention was required in 41.2% of cases. A significant association was found between elevated WBC counts and the need for surgery (P=0.002). Leukocytosis showed 85% sensitivity, 75% specificity, 78% PPV, and 80% NPV. Patients with WBC >15.0×103/μL were 3.5 times more likely to require surgery.
Conclusions: Leukocytosis is a useful diagnostic marker for identifying patients with abdominal pain who may require surgical intervention. However, due to its limited specificity, it should be interpreted alongside clinical and imaging findings. Further multicenter prospective studies are needed to validate these findings and improve diagnostic algorithms.
Downloads
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Asian Journal of Medical Sciences
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- The journal holds copyright and publishes the work under a Creative Commons CC-BY-NC license that permits use, distribution and reprduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes. The journal should be recognised as the original publisher of this work.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
