CT Scans in Children
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AspenBio Pharma is committed to advancing its proprietary blood-based test, AppyScore™, a product being developed to be used to aid emergency physicians in the identification of patients at low risk for acute appendicitis.
"At AspenBio we believe there is a significant unmet clinical need which has been affirmed by many emergency physicians for a simple blood test that can provide physicians with an additional tool, in addition to signs and symptoms, to identify those patients who are suspicious for appendicitis, but are at low risk. A negative AppyScore™ test result could be helpful in determining if certain patients should be conservatively managed and thereby potentially avoid exposure to radiation from a CT scan."
Abdominal pain is the number one reason people report to hospital emergency departments. According to CDC data, in the United States over 9.5 million people enter emergency departments annually complaining of abdominal pain. Diagnosing the cause of abdominal pain and appendicitis can be challenging and urgent because a delayed diagnosis often negatively impacts the patients' health, can increase recovery times if the patient has appendicitis, and increases cost. Unfortunately, diagnosing acute appendicitis, a common cause of abdominal pain, is particularly challenging as up to 50% of the patients do not present with classical symptoms. Through the use of AppyScore's negative predictive value and clinical sensitivity, the test is designed to help physicians in the process of determining which patients entering the emergency department suspicious for appendicitis are unlikely to have the disease. The AppyScore™ test system could potentially reduce the number of CT scans performed on low risk patients, and thereby, reduce: radiation exposure risk for patients, health care costs, and enhance emergency department efficiency. Reduction of CT scans is especially important in young people.
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We expect that if AppyScore™ receives regulatory clearance it will be used to aid emergency physicians in managing a large number of patients complaining of abdominal pain suspicious for appendicitis. Currently, CT scans are often used to help diagnose or rule out acute appendicitis, but this exposes patients to ionizing radiation and comes at a high monetary cost. This is particularly alarming when performed in pediatric patients who are in their high growth period and are in the greatest danger of experiencing long term health risks from early age radiation exposure. The use of AppyScore™ could potentially avoid exposing lower risk patients to radiation from CT scans while also reducing cost. AspenBio's current focus is to clinically validate the performance of AppyScore™ in the emergency department's management of children and adolescents presenting with signs, symptoms, and history suggestive of acute appendicitis but who are believed to be at low risk of having the disease.
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