What happens during appendicitis testing?
Appendicitis tests usually include a physical exam of your abdomen and one or more of the following:
Blood test to check for signs of infection. A high white blood cell count is a sign of an infection, including, but not limited to, appendicitis.
Urine test to rule out a urinary tract infection.
Imaging tests, such as an abdominal ultrasound or CT scan, to view the inside of your abdomen. Imaging tests are often used to help confirm a diagnosis, if a physical exam and/or blood test show possible appendicitis.
During a blood test, a health care professional will take a blood sample from a vein in your arm, using a small needle. After the needle is inserted, a small amount of blood will be collected into a test tube or vial. You may feel a little sting when the needle goes in or out. This usually takes less than five minutes.
For a urine test,  you will need to provide a sample of your urine. The test may include the following steps:
Wash your hands.
Clean your genital area with a cleansing pad given to you by your provider. Men should wipe the tip of their penis. Women should open their labia and clean from front to back.
Start to urinate into the toilet.
Move the collection container under your urine stream.
Collect at least an ounce or two of urine into the container, which should have markings to indicate the amounts.
Finish urinating into the toilet.
Return the sample container as instructed by your health care provider.
An abdominal ultrasound uses sound waves to view the inside of your abdomen. During the procedure:
You will lie on an exam table.
A special gel will be placed on your skin over the abdomen.
A handheld probe called a transducer will be moved over the abdomen.
A CT scan uses a computer that's linked to an x-ray machine to create a series of pictures of the inside of your body. Before the scan, you may need to take in a substance called contrast dye. Contrast dye helps the images show up better in the x-ray. You may get contrast dye through an intravenous line or by drinking it.
During the scan:
You will lie on a table that slides into the CT scanner.
The scanner's beam will rotate around you as it takes pictures.
The scanner will take pictures at different angles to create three-dimensional images of your appendix.
