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. 2016 Apr;4(2):297-304.
doi: 10.1177/2050640615606012. Epub 2015 Sep 24.

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

Nicolò Caporale  1 , Antonio Maria Morselli-Labate  1 , Elena Nardi  1 , Rosanna Cogliandro  1 , Mario Cavazza  2 , Vincenzo Stanghellini  1
Affiliations

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

Nicolò Caporale et al. United European Gastroenterol J. 2016 Apr.

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.

Keywords: Abdominal pain; emergency care; epidemiology; gastroenterology.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Age distribution of 2623 patients admitted in the emergency department (ED) of the Sant’Orsola, Malpighi University Hospital of Bologna during 12 selected days between January and June 2013.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Chief complaints at admission in 2623 patients selected among those seen in the emergency department (ED) of the Sant’Orsola, Malpighi University Hospital of Bologna between January and June 2013.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Prevalence of acute abdominal pain (AAP) according to the age of 2623 patients selected among those seen in the emergency department (ED) of the Sant’Orsola, Malpighi University Hospital of Bologna between January and June 2013 (linear-by-linear chi-squared test).
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Prevalence of acute abdominal pain (AAP) according to the severity admission code of 2623 patients selected among those seen in the emergency department (ED) of the Sant’Orsola, Malpighi University Hospital of Bologna between January and June 2013 (linear-by-linear chi-squared test).
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Hospital wards where the hospitalized patients were assigned by the physicians of the emergency department (ED) of the Sant’Orsola, Malpighi University Hospital of Bologna.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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