Acute abdominal pain in the emergency department of a university hospital in Italy. Issue 2 (1st April 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Caporale, Nicolò; Morselli‐Labate, Antonio Maria; Nardi, Elena; Cogliandro, Rosanna; Cavazza, Mario; Stanghellini, Vincenzo
• Is Part Of: United European Gastroenterology journal. Volume 4:Issue 2(2016:Apr.)
• Page Start: 297
• Page End: 304
• Publication Date: 2016-04-01
• Subjects: Abdominal pain -- emergency care -- epidemiology -- gastroenterology; Gastroenterology -- Periodicals; Periodicals; 616.33005
• DOI: 10.1177/2050640615606012
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2050-6406

Abstract

Abstract : Background: Acute abdominal pain (AAP) is one of the most common causes of referral to an emergency department (ED), but information about its impact is limited. Objectives: The objectives of this article are to define the prevalence of AAP among ED visits in a large university hospital and analyze its main clinical features. Methods: All patients admitted at the Sant'Orsola, Malpighi University Hospital of Bologna ED on 12 a priori selected sample days in 2013 were included. General data were recorded for each patient. A total of 192 clinical variables were recorded for each patient with abdominal pain. Results: During the observation period the ED assisted 2623 patients with a daily admission rate of 219 ± 20 (mean ± SD). Of these, 239 patients complained of AAP as their chief complaint at entry (prevalence = 9.1%). AAP prevalence was significantly higher in females than in males (10.4% vs. 7.8%; OR = 1.37; p = 0.021) as well as in foreign over Italian patients (13.2% vs. 8.5%; OR = 1.64; p = 0.007). The most frequent ED operative diagnoses were non‐specific abdominal pain ( n = 86, 36.0%) and gastrointestinal (GI) tract‐related pain ( n = 79, 33.1%; n = 19 upper GI, n = 60 lower GI). Conclusions: AAP is a common cause of referral at EDs. Despite technological advances, non‐specific abdominal pain is still the main operative diagnosis.