Index
It is a sign mainly used to detect diseases such as appendicitis.
If the palpation of the left lower quadrant of a person’s abdomen increases, the pain is felt in the right lower quadrant; the patient is said to have a positive Rovsing sign and may have appendicitis.
The sign of Rovsing was named after the Danish surgeon Niels Thorkild Rovsing (1862-1927), who is remembered for describing this sign for the first time; his work included abdominal pathologies, including cystitis, urinary tract tuberculosis, gallstone disease, and appendicitis.
In acute appendicitis, palpation in the left iliac fossa can produce pain in the right iliac fossa.
History
The sign of Rovsing, as it is classically described, is not simply palpating the left iliac fossa that causes pain in the right iliac fossa to determine specific conditions.
Neither is peritoneal irritation what is provoked; instead, Rovsing’s original description was an attempt to distend the appendix by pressing the left colon in an antiperistaltic direction.
Studies in the 1950s on intraoperative manometry and cadaveric measurements confirmed that the mechanism sounds as implausible now as it did.
The same studies found a minor sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of appendicitis; thanks to this, the function is currently given to the Rovsing sign was generated.
More recently, a 2005 document indicates a sensitivity of 30.1% and specificity of 84.4%. However, given the generalized ignorance of the original sign described by Rovsing, this is better considered “The similar sign of Rovsing.”
In the best case, it is probably simply a substitute for peritoneal irritation of any cause centered in the right iliac fossa but extending into the left iliac fossa.
Uses of the Rovsing sign
The Rovsing sign can help diagnose various diseases, depending on the region in which the pain is felt due to pressure in the left iliac fossa.
The pain in the right iliac fossa may be due to any inflamed tissue or organ in that region, usually the appendix; however, there may also be another pathology.
If the pressure in the lower-left quadrant causes pain on both sides or in the left quadrant only where the paint is applied, there may be a problem with the uterus, colon, bladder, ovaries, etc.
However, the patient may also have an appendix on the left side.
Therefore, this sign is a helpful tool, not a diagnostic criterion.
Pathologies
This anomaly occurs because the nerves of deep pain in the intestines are not located well at an exact point of the abdominal wall, unlike the pain nerves in the muscles.
The brain can interpret the pain of an ulcer or gallstones as pain in the stomach, liver, gallbladder, duodenum, or the first part of the small intestine.
Pain will often be referred to as the upper half of the abdomen.
Because the appendix is a portion of the intestine, it follows a similar derivation pattern.
An appendix with some early inflammation can cause nonspecific irritation near the navel.
If the inflammation becomes severe, it can irritate the inner lining of the abdominal cavity called the peritoneum.
This thin layer is located under or behind the abdominal wall muscles. Now the pain is “localized.”
If pressure is applied to the muscles of the right lower abdomen (or iliac fossa) near a very irritated appendix, then the muscle fibers in that area will stretch and hurt.
Process
The Rovsing sign is obtained by pressing the abdomen away from the appendix in the left lower quadrant since, in most people, the appendix is in the lower right quadrant.
While this maneuver stretches the entire peritoneal lining, it only causes pain anywhere the peritoneum irritates the muscle.
In the case of appendicitis, pain is felt in the right lower quadrant despite the pressure placed elsewhere.
Most professionals press on the lower left quadrant to see where the patient complains of pain.
If you feel pain in the right lower quadrant, there may be an inflamed organ or a piece of tissue in the right lower quadrant.
The appendix is usually the main suspect, although another pathology can also give a “positive” Rovsing sign.
If the lower left quadrant pressure on the examiner’s side only leads to pain on the left side of the pain on the left and right sides, then there may be some other pathological etiology.
This may include causes related to the bladder, uterus, ascending colon (right), fallopian tubes, ovaries, or other structures.
The eponymous sign Rovsing is also used in patients with kidney stones, presenting symptoms such as abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting with hyperextension of the spine.
