Abstract:
Background: - Acute abdomen is one of the common clinical
conditions.Acute abdomen is an acute onset of abdominal disease entities
that require immediate surgical intervention in most of the cases. It’s a
medical slang for sudden abdominal symptoms consisting of most part of
pain, vomiting, constipation and genitourinary function. The correct
interpretation of acute abdomen is challenging, which requires immediate
attention and prompt action, as many of the condition producing acute
abdomen are potentially lethal. The diagnosis of acute abdomen is not easy.
Abdominal symptoms are possibly the frequent of all symptoms encountered
in surgical practice .Some of the common causes of acute abdomen are acute
appendicitis, intestinal obstruction, perforated PUD, Volvulus and
Intussusception. They require urgent treatment including emergency
operation.
The most obvious of acute abdomens may not require operative intervention;
on the other hand, the mildest of abdominal pain and other symptoms may
require an urgent intervention. The leading cause of acute abdomen in
several African countries was intestinal obstruction, where as acute
appendicitis is top in the list of some studies.
Of the major gastrointestinal disorders, acute appendicitis was the most
common condition, accounting for one third of the cases in Black Lion
hospital.The presentation of different causes of acute abdomen overlap but
there are some sig ns and symptoms that may help to narrow the differential
diagnosis.
