University System of Maryland

Children's Research Institute, Children's National Medical Center

Emmanuel Mongodin

Steven L Zeichner

Anthony Sandler

Katherine Davenport

Claire Fraser

Hope Jackson

A method for determining a likelihood of appendicitis in a subject is disclosed. The method comprises the steps of (a) determining the relative abundance of microorganisms corresponding to one or more operational taxonomic units (OTUs) in a test biological sample obtained from the subject; (b) comparing the relative abundance of the microorganisms in each of the one or more OTUs to a corresponding reference value assigned to each of the one or more OTUs, and (c) determining a likelihood of appendicitis in the subject based on the result in step (b), wherein a significant increase in relative abundance of the microorganisms in the one or more OTUs indicates a high risk of appendicitis in the subject. Also disclosed is a kit for determining a likelihood of appendicitis in a subject.

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Baltimore, MD, United States of America

Emmanuel Mongodin