Algorithms for diagnosing abdominal pain

News release from NETSCC, HTA

28 November 2006

New research published by the HTA programme suggests that algorithm-guided diagnosis may improve the clinical management of acute abdominal pain (AAP). A systematic review by researchers from the University of Dundee compared the diagnostic accuracy of unaided doctors against doctors guided by diagnostic algorithms, including protocols, checklists and diagnostic scores.

They found that decision tools are useful for doctors in helping to confirm a diagnosis, but not ruling it out, and that the clinical use of well-designed, condition-specific structured checklists (paper or computer-based) is promising as a way to improve impact on results for patients, subject to further research.

“Making accurate decisions for patients with AAP is difficult. Many conditions cause AAP and no single clinical finding or test is both specific and sensitive. Many decision tools have been developed to aid AAP management, but no consensus exists on their appropriateness for clinical use,” says lead researcher Professor Jeremy Wyatt. “Our research brings together all the existing evidence and suggests that there is a role for the use of structured checklists to help doctors improve their diagnostic accuracy.”

The full report has been published in the Health Technology Assessment journal series. To download the report free visit the project details page.

Notes for editors

 

  1. The HTA programme is a programme of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and produces high quality research information about the effectiveness, costs, and broader impact of health technologies for those who use, manage and provide care in the NHS. It is the largest of the NIHR programmes and publishes the results of its research in the Health Technology Assessment journal, with more than 500 issues published to date. The journal’s 2008 Impact Factor (5.010) ranked it in the top 10 per cent of medical and health-related journals. All issues are available for download free of charge from the website, www.hta.ac.uk The HTA programme is coordinated by the NIHR Evaluation, Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre (NETSCC), based at the University of Southampton.
  2. The National Institute for Health Research provides the framework through which the research staff and research infrastructure of the NHS in England is positioned, maintained and managed as a national research facility.  The NIHR provides the NHS with the support and infrastructure it needs to conduct first-class research funded by the Government and its partners alongside high-quality patient care, education and training.  Its aim is to support outstanding individuals (both leaders and collaborators), working in world class facilities (both NHS and university), conducting leading edge research focused on the needs of patients. www.nihr.ac.uk

 

Contact details

Naomi Stockley, Programme Manager (Communications)
Telephone: 02380 595 646, Email: ns5@southampton.ac.uk

Kelly Waterman, Assistant Programme Manager (Communications)
Telephone: 02380 597 376, Email: k.waterman@southampton.ac.uk

Advanced search How to use the search function