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Query: UMLS:C0000737 (abdominal pain)
 31,184 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

A prospective audit of the diagnostic yield and management benefit of laparoscopy was undertaken in 220 consecutive patients. The procedure was performed electively in 180 patients and as an emergency in 40. The indications for laparoscopy in the elective group were suspected hepatic disease, staging of intra-abdominal malignancy, diagnostic problems, and chronic abdominal pain. Emergency laparoscopy was performed in patients admitted with acute abdominal pain. Diagnostic benefit varied with the indication for the procedure: liver disease 71%, tumour staging 87%, uncertain diagnosis 74%, acute abdominal pain 100%, and chronic abdominal pain 41%. Clinical management was significantly influenced by laparoscopy in 15 of 21 (71%) patients with liver disease, 10 of 30 (33%) with intra-abdominal malignancy, 5 of 19 (26%) with uncertain diagnosis, 32 of 40 (80%) with acute abdominal pain, and 15 of 110 (23%) patients with chronic abdominal pain. A wrong assessment of the nature or stage of the disease was made by laparoscopy in 3 of 220 (1.0%). There was no morbidity or mortality attributed to laparoscopy in the study.
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PMID:Diagnostic yield and management benefit of laparoscopy: a prospective audit. 782 84

One hundred consecutive patients who underwent diagnostic laparoscopy for suspected appendicitis were evaluated to assess the appropriate clinical setting for laparoscopic appendectomy. The usefulness of diagnostic laparoscopy in the setting of acute abdominal pain has been well documented. However, there is debate about the use of laparoscopy for definitive therapy. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the decision making process during diagnostic laparoscopy for suspected appendicitis. When pathology is identified other than in the appendix, the majority of patients can be treated without converting to an open procedure. In patients found to have no obvious pathology, incidental appendectomy can be performed laparoscopically. When appendicitis was identified, the majority of patients could be treated safely without converting to an open technique. However, there were certain clinical situations that necessitated conversion to an open operation. Involvement of the cecum or perforation at the base of the appendix puts the appendiceal stump at risk for leak and abscess formation. Evaluation of the cecum by palpation for a mass should also be performed in this situation. Another situation in which conversion to an open technique is warranted is an appendiceal abscess with adherent small bowel. The friability of bowel wall greatly increases the risk for bowel injury in this setting. Laparoscopy is a useful technique for the diagnosis and treatment of abdominal pain even if the appendix is normal on inspection. Conversion to an open operation should be employed when inflammation or perforation occurs at the base of the appendix and when bowel is found to be adherent to an appendiceal abscess.
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PMID:Diagnostic laparoscopy for suspected appendicitis. 785 85

In this article, I review the diagnosis and immediate prognosis of acute abdominal pain in elderly patients. I draw on published work and on three major series of patients, one collected since 1976 by the World Organization of Gastroenterology (OMGE) Research Committee, one by the 1986 United Kingdom National Study of Human and Computer-Aided Diagnosis, and one by the European Community 1993 Concerted Action on Acute Abdominal Pain. These series include approximately 42,000 patients. Acute abdominal pain in the elderly patient presents a significant and challenging problem. Diagnostic accuracy is lower, and mortality far higher, than in younger patients. Reasons for these differences are multifactorial: the case mix is different, the evolution and prognosis of specific diseases are different, and the ways in which diseases present are also different in elderly patients. It is not difficult therefore to understand why serious problems in management occur. I conclude by discussing implications of existing studies and the literature that--if implemented--should significantly improve both management resource utilization and patient outcome.
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PMID:Acute abdominal pain in the elderly. 787 17

From January 1991 to June 1993 the authors performed 92 diagnostic laparoscopies when physical examination, laboratory tests, and noninvasive imaging techniques failed to provide accurate diagnoses. Thirty-three patients (36%) underwent laparoscopy to ensure or exclude diagnosis in suspected intra-abdominal malignancy or to assess the operability in the cases of known cancer; 31 patients (34%) were evaluated for chronic abdominal pain; 15 patients (16%) were evaluated for acute abdominal pain; 9 trauma patients (10%) were evaluated to exclude or confirm penetration of the peritoneum or laceration of intra-abdominal organs; and 4 patients (4%) were operated on for miscellaneous conditions. Of the 92 patients, laparoscopy led to diagnosis in 80 patients (87%), a laparotomy was avoided in 78 patients (85%), and operative treatment was done laparoscopically in 65 patients (71%). Diagnostic laparoscopy will not replace laparotomy in every instance. However, in selected groups of patients, it may be used to yield diagnosis and help to avoid unnecessary laparotomy.
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PMID:Diagnostic laparoscopy: a survey of 92 patients. 794 93

There are increasing challenges for the practising gastroenterologist in treating AIDS-related gastrointestinal diseases. The differential diagnoses of dysphagia and odynophagia include cytomegalovirus (CMV) and herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection, non-specific aphthous ulceration and non-AIDS oesophageal diseases, especially reflux oesophagitis. Chronic subacute abdominal pain with nausea, vomiting, early satiety and weight loss is suggestive of an obstructive lesion caused by lymphoma or Kaposi's sarcoma. Severe acute abdominal pain can indicate pancreatitis or intestinal perforation due to cytomegalovirus. Right upper quadrant pain (with or without fever, vomiting or abnormal liver function tests with a cholestatic profile) is suggestive of hepatobiliary pathology including cholecystitis, cholangitis, acalculous cholecystitis and AIDS cholangiopathy. Diarrhoea is the most common gastrointestinal symptom of AIDS, affecting 50-90% of patients. Causes of AIDS diarrhoea include protozoa (Cryptosporidium parvum, Isospora belli, Enterocytozoon bieneusi, Septata intestinalis, Cyclospora spp, Entamoeba histolytica and Giardia lamblia), bacteria (Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare, Clostridium difficile, Salmonella, Shigella and Campylobacter jejuni), and viruses (CMV, HSV and possibly HIV). Chronic diarrhoea, malnutrition and weight loss can shorten the life-span of patients with AIDS. Elemental diets, isotonic formulas, medium chain triglycerides and total parenteral nutrition have been tried with little success in AIDS patients with severe diarrhoea and wasting.
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PMID:AIDS and the gut. 805 32

Rectus Sheath Hematomas are an uncommon cause of abdominal pain. There are many etiologies for this entity. The physician must be aware of this entity and include it in his differential when a patient presents with acute abdominal pain.
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PMID:Rectus sheath hematomas in hematological disorders. 819 33

Diagnostic laparoscopy is rapidly becoming a procedure used by general surgeons in increasing numbers. Its use will follow the therapeutic procedures now being used by many fellow surgeons. As the procedure is generally performed under local anesthesia, new techniques must be learned. The indications include abdominal pain (acute and chronic), focal liver disease, ascites, preoperative evaluation of malignant disease, and second-look evaluations after medical therapy for malignant disease. The overall diagnostic rate is 99% for acute abdominal pain, 70% for chronic pain syndromes, 95% for focal liver disease, 95% for abdominal masses, 97% for ascites, and greater than 80% for retroperitoneal disease. Diagnostic laparoscopy should be used with increasing frequency when a tissue diagnosis is needed.
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PMID:Diagnostic laparoscopy. 826 33

The authors review the color Doppler ultrasonographic (US) features of appendicitis and other diseases that can manifest with acute lower abdominal pain. Causes of acute abdominal pain, other than appendicitis, include gynecologic abnormalities (ovarian cyst, ovarian torsion, pelvic inflammatory disease), gastrointestinal abnormalities (infectious enteritis, Crohn disease, mesenteric lymphadenitis, intussusception), and urinary tract diseases. On color Doppler images, inflammatory and infectious processes usually show locally increased blood flow, whereas cysts and twisted masses have absent blood flow. Enlarged lymph nodes also are avascular. Color Doppler US is a useful adjunct to gray-scale US in evaluating acute lower abdominal pain in children and can aid in defining and clarifying gray-scale abnormalities.
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PMID:Color Doppler US of children with acute lower abdominal pain. 829 Jul 24

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of free peritoneal fluid in children with abdominal pain, identify conditions associated with this finding, and determine the ability of ultrasonography to detect associated abnormalities. Two hundred and fifty children with acute abdominal pain and a reference group of 50 asymptomatic children were evaluated for the presence of free peritoneal fluid. Free peritoneal fluid was noted in 72 (29%) symptomatic and three (6%) asymptomatic children. A specific diagnosis was established in 39 (54%) symptomatic children. The discharge diagnosis in the remaining 33 (46%) children was abdominal pain or gastroenteritis of unknown origin. Ultrasonography suggested the correct diagnosis in 29 out of 39 (74%) symptomatic children in whom a specific diagnosis was established at the time of discharge from the hospital. The presence of free peritoneal fluid detected by an ultrasonographic examination in children who have abdominal pain represents a nonspecific finding. Fluid is noted in association with a variety of abdominal and pelvic disorders. In approximately one half of symptomatic children with free peritoneal fluid, the final diagnosis is abdominal pain or gastroenteritis of unknown etiology. In the remainder, ultrasonography aids in the determination of a specific diagnosis.
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PMID:Significance of peritoneal fluid identified by ultrasonographic examination in children with acute abdominal pain. 830 14

In a series of 187 patients with acute abdominal pain syndrome, 65 young women reported non specific pain in right iliac or pelvic area. A controlled study compared 33 patients with immediate laparoscopy and 32 explored with a laboratory contrast or imaging approach. In the laparoscopic group, an exact diagnosis was made in 97% of the patients, allowing in 2/3 of cases the endoscopic treatment. Only 28% in the second group had an exact diagnosis. Hospital stay was shorter in the laparoscopic group (4.18 vs 6.16 days; p = 0.01) decreasing the hospital cost. The authors suggest that immediate laparoscopy should be performed in young women presenting with non-specific abdominal pain.
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PMID:[Right iliac fossa pain in women. Conventional diagnostic approach versus primary laparoscopy. A controlled study (65 cases)]. 835 8


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