Pro-adrenomedullin: a novel diagnostic biomarker of acute appendicitis

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of serum pro-adrenomedullin (pro-ADM) levels in diagnosing acute appendicitis (AA) in patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) with abdominal pain. METHODS: This prospective clinical study included patients over the age of 18 who presented to the ED with abdominal pain and were initially suspected of having appendicitis. A venous blood sample was collected from each patient upon presentation, and serum pro-ADM levels were measured. Based on laboratory and radiological evaluations, patients were categorized into two groups: those diagnosed with AA and those without AA. The AA group was further subdivided into simple and complicated AA. All statistical analyses were performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) for Windows, version 21.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). A p-value of