PubMed Health⌕ Search
Home/Archive/PubMed

PubMed · 15965664

[Acute abdomen].

J Mössner
View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

Acute abdomen is not a disease entity on its own but describes a critical state of the patient which can be caused by numerous diseases. The surgeon and internist have to apply an interdisciplinary approach to enable a rapid decision on whether immediate laparotomy is mandatory. Few appropriate diagnostic procedures support decision making. In many cases there is an indication for immediate surgery, such as perforated gastric or duodenal ulcer, acute appendicitis, diverticulitis, ruptured aortic aneurysm, mechanic ileus, infarction of the mesenteric artery. This review is mainly focused on diseases which may present as acute abdomen but for which surgery is usually not indicated, such as acute pancreatitis. Furthermore, one also has to consider rare diseases in which laparotomy would clearly be a mistake, such as acute intermittent porphyria or intestinal pseudo-obstruction.

Explore related subjects

Abdominal PainAcute DiseaseAppendicitisCholecystitisCritical CareDiagnosis, DifferentialEmergency MedicineGastrointestinal DiseasesHumansPancreatitisPorphyriasPractice Guidelines as TopicPractice Patterns, Physicians'PrognosisRisk AssessmentRisk FactorsEnglish AbstractJournal ArticleReview

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

J Mössner. 2005. [Acute abdomen].. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00108-005-1455-0

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related citations

PubMed2007

Development of an ovarian cancer symptom index: possibilities for earlier detection.

BACKGROUND: Currently, screening for ovarian cancer is not recommended for the general population. Targeting women with specific symptoms for screening has been evaluated only recently, because it was believed that symptoms had limited specificity. METHODS: A case-control study of 149 women with ovarian cancer, including 255 women who were in a screening program and 233 women who were referred for pelvic/abdominal ultrasound, was conducted by inviting women to complete a survey of symptoms. Patients were divided randomly into an exploratory group and a confirmatory group. Symptom types, frequency, severity, and duration were compared between cases and controls. Logistic regression analyses were used to determine which factors independently predicted cancer in the exploratory group and then were used to develop a symptom index, which was tested for sensitivity and specificity in the confirmatory group. RESULTS: Symptoms that were associated significantly with ovarian cancer were pelvic/abdominal pain, urinary urgency/frequency, increased abdominal size/bloating, and difficulty eating/feeling full when they were present for <1 year and occurred >12 days per month. In a logistic regression analysis, symptoms that were associated independently with cancer were pelvic/abdominal pain (P < .001), increased abdominal size/bloating (P<.001), and difficulty eating/feeling full (P = .010). A symptom index was considered positive if any of those 6 symptoms occurred >12 times per month but were present for <1 year. In the confirmatory sample, the index had a sensitivity of 56.7 for early-stage disease and 79.5% for advanced-stage disease. Specificity was 90% for women age >50 years and 86.7% for women age <50 years. CONCLUSIONS: Specific symptoms in conjunction with their frequency and duration were useful in identifying women with ovarian cancer. A symptom index may be useful for identifying women who are at risk.

Abdominal Pain↗
PubMed2007

A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial of Lactobacillus GG for abdominal pain disorders in children.

BACKGROUND: Functional abdominal pain disorders (FAPD) are common in school-aged children; however, there is no reliable treatment. AIM: To determine the efficacy of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) for treating FAPD in children. METHODS: A total of 104 children who fulfilled the Rome II criteria for functional dyspepsia (FD), or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), or functional abdominal pain (FAP) were enrolled in a double-blind, randomized controlled trial in which they received LGG (n = 52), or placebo (n = 52) for 4 weeks. RESULTS: For the overall study population, those in the LGG group were more likely to have treatment success (no pain) than those in the placebo group (25% vs. 9.6%, relative benefit (RB) 2.6, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.05-6.6, number needed to treat (NNT) 7, 95% CI: 4-123). For children with IBS (n = 37), those in the LGG group were more likely to have treatment success than those in the placebo group (33% vs. 5%, RB 6.3, 95% CI: 1.2-38, NNT 4, 95% CI: 2-36) and reduced frequency of pain (P = 0.02), but not pain severity (P = 0.10). For the FD group (n = 20) and FAP group (n = 47), no differences were found. CONCLUSION: The LGG appears to moderately increase treatment success, particularly among children with IBS.

Abdominal Pain↗
PubMed2007

Surgery for cystic lymphangioma in Gorlin-Goltz syndrome.

INTRODUCTION: We present a case of three major lymphomesenteric cysts in a female patient with known basal cell nevus syndrome (BCNS or Gorlin-Goltz syndrome). DISCUSSION: Although those cysts have been reported to appear in this syndrome, the exact prevalence is not known. In this case, the patient suffered from severe and recurrent abdominal pain due to bowel obstruction. CONCLUSION: By causing severe symptoms, cystic lymphangiomas are an important complication of the BCNS despite of their seldom occurrence. Surgeons confronted with intraabdominal masses in a patient with BCNS should always be aware of this manifestation of the disorder and plan interdisciplinary operations.

Abdominal Pain↗