Quality and Outcomes Reports - Emergency Medicine
Diagnostic Accuracy for Appendicitis
Why we measure it - Appendicitis can be a difficult diagnosis to make in children. Patient outcomes are improved by earlier diagnoses and quicker treatment.
What this means - Our specialists have developed techniques to diagnose appendicitis accurately during the initial visit to the Emergency Department. The frequency of our patients requiring a second visit to the ED is less than the national average of 8 percent (Reynolds et al).
About the data - The graph reflects the percent of appendectomy patients who had an Emergency Department visit for abdominal pain within the prior 72 hours of current admission.
Related dimensions of care:
What we're doing to provide the best care:
- Our doctors and nurses work together and with other specialists to deliver accurate and timely care for patients with an appendicitis diagnosis. These guidelines have helped us to reduce time to final diagnosis and reduce the length of stay after an appendicitis diagnosis has been made.
Patients and families:
- Bring a full list of your child's medicines. Be sure to include over-the-counter medicines such as vitamins and supplements.
- Children should not eat or drink anything (including water) if you suspect they have a deep cut or broken bone. This is because they may need surgery.
- Have your insurance card and paperwork available. We may need to gather relevant information from you before seeing the doctor.
- Bring the name, address, phone and fax numbers of your child's primary care and/or referring doctor so we can update him or her on your child's care.
- Ask questions if you don't understand the plan of care or if you are not sure how to care for your child at home.
Referring physicians:
- Referring physicians can access our specialists for consultation or transport 24 hours a day. Call our physician referral line at (800) 266-0366.
- Health care providers from outside of our southeastern Wisconsin service area are encouraged to use our web-based
e-Consult service. This service is available for non-urgent patient cases only and gives providers access to our specialists to review patient cases, obtain medical advice or second opinions, and receive care recommendations for rare symptoms and illnesses.
e-Consult is not to be used by the general public, parents/guardians or families. - Care guidelines for medical professionals
- Educational materials
- Pocket Directory
If you have questions about this information, email us or call (414) 266-6556.