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Query: UMLS:C0000727 (acute abdomen)
 3,084 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

A variety of drugs and toxins can produce severe abdominal pain and, in some cases, a surgical abdomen. Toxins can be classified according to mechanisms of injury: 1. Corrosives often produce severe gastroenteritis and may result in gastric or esophageal perforations. Examples of corrosive substances include aspirin, iron, mercury, acids and alkali. 2. Drugs may cause intestinal ileus or obstruction by pharmacologic actions (i.e., anticholinergic drugs and narcotics) or by mechanical obstruction (charcoal and drug bezoars). 3. Abdominal pain simulating an acute abdomen may result from systemic effects of black widow spider envenomation or intoxication with heavy metals such as lead and arsenic. 4. Ischemic bowel disease may occur from use of vasoconstrictor drugs, such as ergotamines, amphetamines and cocaine, or may follow treatment with catecholamines or digitalis in critically ill patients. Small bowel ischemia is life-threatening and may require bowel resection. 5. Many drugs cause abdominal pain by directly injuring abdominal organs, such as the liver and pancreas. Antibiotic-associated colitis may present with abdominal pain and inflammatory diarrhea. Consideration of drugs and toxins plays an important role in the differential diagnosis of the acute abdomen.
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PMID:Toxicologic causes of acute abdominal disorders. 266 62

Intestinal ischemia is an uncommon disorder, whose incidence is nevertheless increasing and whose mortality remains high. The major cause of its poor prognosis is represented by the diagnostic delay depending on the poor specificity and late onset of the various clinical, biohumoral and radiographic signs associated with bowel infarction. On the one hand, the aspecificity of clinico-humoral findings and on the other hand its invasiveness prevent a broad use of angiography and call for the introduction of noninvasive methods. In our experience on 17 cases, Computed Tomography (CT), exhibiting sensitivity and specificity fairly higher than conventional radiology, makes a valid diagnostic tool in the examination of acute abdomen patients in general and in vascular emergencies in particular. With CT, diagnostic accuracy is fairly increased in acute mesenteric insufficiency. CT allows this condition to be detected earlier than conventional radiology and permits the early recognition, in a larger number of cases, of the patients who will benefit most from a surgical or radiologic treatment.
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PMID:[Computed tomography in the diagnostic approach to acute mesenteric ischemia]. 759 25

Intestinal ischaemia is an uncommon complication of recreational cocaine abuse. We report the case of a 36-year-old male who underwent emergency surgery for acute abdomen. At laparotomy, the transverse colon appeared markedly oedematous, dilated and with subserosal haemorrhage. Segmental resection was performed and microscopic examination of the resected specimen showed focal necrosis of the mucosa with a patchy polymorphonuclear and mononuclear infiltrate. The submucosa was markedly thickened due to oedema; focal haemorrhage was observed and blood vessels were dilated but showed no structural abnormalities or thrombosis. These findings were consistent with ischaemic colitis. No risk factors for intestinal ischaemia were present but the patient stated that he had injected cocaine i.v. the day before the onset of symptoms. He was not a cocaine abuser but occasionally sniffed, smoked or injected cocaine. Cocaine use should be considered in the aetiological diagnosis of intestinal ischaemia in young patients.
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PMID:Acute ischaemic colitis following intravenous cocaine use. 1042 76

Intestinal ischemia in antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (PAPS) could be due to arterial thrombosis from hypercoagulability. A male patient, 45 years old, was admitted to the hospital with symptoms of acute abdomen and after laparotomy he developed sepsis, right kidney infarction, jejunal ischemia, aortic thrombosis, wide necrosis of both gluteus muscles, left subclavian vein thrombosis. Our therapeutic and diagnostic strategy was delineated after demonstration of antiphospholipid antibodies. The patient was treated with total parenteral nutrition in the presence of 5 enteric fistulas with very high outflow, arterial stent insertion and daily changes of medicated dressings. Outcome was excellent with small residual deficit in walking. Continuous nutritional status monitoring and very high nitrogen supply allowed excellent healing of huge wounds and closure of enteral fistulas.
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PMID:[Acute abdomen in antiphospholipid antibodies syndrome (PAPS)]. 1736 35

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may present as acute abdomen, although the pathophysiology remains obscure. We report the case of a 45-year-old-man with severe COVID-19 pneumonia with associated pulmonary embolism who presented with acute abdomen. He underwent emergency laparotomy and resection of an ischaemic area of the jejunum. Postoperatively, he had septic shock, acute respiratory distress syndrome and acute kidney injury necessitating continuous renal replacement therapy. We administered antibiotics and therapeutic anticoagulation along with two sessions of haemoadsorption by CytoSorb filter, in conjunction with continuous renal replacement therapy. The patient survived. Bowel ischaemia due to thromboembolic disease should be promptly treated. Extracorporeal blood purification may be useful in managing sepsis in severe COVID-19.
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PMID:Rare case of COVID-19 presenting as acute abdomen and sepsis. 3322 7