Summary of Recommendations

Document Overview

Design and created by Guideline Central in participation with the American College of Emergency Physicians.

Evaluation and Management of Emergency Department Patients with Suspected Appendicitis

American College of Emergency Physicians

Publication Date: Feb 28, 2023

Page Last Updated: May 5, 2026

Level of Recommendation

Document Title: Evaluation and Management of Emergency Department Patients with Suspected Appendicitis

Full Text Guideline: www.acep.org/globalassets/sites/acep/media/clinical-policies/appendicitis2023.pdf

Document Objectives: This clinical policy from the American College of Emergency Physicians addresses key issues in the evaluation and management of patients presenting to the emergency department with suspected appendicitis. A writing subcommittee conducted a systematic review of the literature to derive evidence-based recommendations to answer the below critical questions. For each question, a systematic literature search was performed, evidence was graded and synthesized, and recommendations were made based on the strength of the available data. The background text, systematic review, and critical analysis of the literature will be published later this year in the Annals of Emergency Medicine.

Diseases/Conditions (MeSH)

D001064 - Appendicitis

Target Patient Population: Adult and pediatric patients with suspected appendicitis

Target Provider Population: Emergency physicians, internal medicine, pediatrics and other allied providers

Recommendation Level
Level	Definition
A	Generally accepted principles for patient care that reflect a high degree of clinical certainty
B	Recommendations for patient care that may identify a particular strategy or range of strategies that reflect moderate clinical certainty
C	Recommendations for patient care that are based on evidence from Class of Evidence III studies or, in the absence of adequate published literature, based on expert consensus