Acute abdominal pain in the emergency department of a university hospital in Italy

作者:Caporale Nicolo; Morselli Labate Antonio Maria; Nardi Elena; Cogliandro Rosanna; Cavazza Mario; Stanghellini Vincenzo*
来源:United European Gastroenterology Journal, 2016, 4(2): 297-304.
DOI:10.1177/2050640615606012

摘要

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 12a 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 21920 (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.

  • 出版日期2016-4