Use of the Alvarado Score for Assessment of Abdominal Pain in a Women’s Soccer Player

The Alvarado score is used in emergency rooms to determine probability of appendicitis and provide a recommendation for care. A women’s soccer player presented to the athletic training clinic with right lower quadrant pain. She was evaluated and due to a differential diagnosis of appendicitis, the Alvarado score was used for screening. Based on her score, she was referred to the emergency room and, after diagnostic testing, was found to have a ruptured ovarian cyst. The Alvarado score was helpful in determining the need for referral when used in the clinical setting.