A two year retrospective analysis of pattern and prevalence of acute abdomen in jimma university specialized hospital, jimma south west Ethiopia

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.