Search

Background/aim: Acute non-specific abdominal pain (NSAP) is prevalent in 6-25% of the general population and is a common cause of admission to the emergency department (ED). Despite involvement of substantial financial and human resources, there are few data on long-term outcome after initial diagnosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate long-term outcome of patients initially admitted with NSAP to an ED., Methods: The study involves a 5-year follow-up analysis of prospectively collected data on 104 patients admitted to our ED in 2003 with NSAP. Primary end-point was clinical outcome 5 years after initial ED admission. Predictive risk factors were assessed using a multivariate regression model., Results: 29 patients (28%) had recurring NSAP 5 years after initial ED admission, 76% of these patients received (multiple) diagnostic examinations and 13% eventually required diagnostic (or therapeutic) surgery. Although approximately half of patients with recurring NSAP eventually received a definite diagnosis, 30% still suffered from recurrent abdominal pain. Using regression analysis, no single factor in our dataset could be identified as a predictor for NSAP persistence., Conclusion: The long-term impact for patients initially admitted to our ED with acute NSAP is significant--28% of patients continue to suffer from recurring NSAP after 5 years. NSAP therefore remains, despite more advanced diagnostic tools, a true and, as yet, unsolved problem., (© 2010 The Authors. Internal Medicine Journal © 2010 Royal Australasian College of Physicians.)

Background: Numerous studies have shown differences in pain perception between men and women, which may affect pain management strategies., Aim: Our primary aim was to investigate whether there are gender-based differences in pain management in patients admitted to our emergency department with acute, non-specific abdominal pain (NSAP). Our secondary aim was to evaluate if other factors influence administration of analgesia for patients admitted with NSAP., Methods: From June 2007 to June 2008, we carried out a retrospective, gender-based, frequency-matched control study with 150 patients (75 consecutive men and 75 women) who presented with NSAP at our emergency department. Pain was documented using a numerical rating scale ('0' no pain, '10' most severe pain). A multinomial regression model was used to assess factors that might influence pain management., Results: No statistically significant difference was seen between men and women with respect to pain management (P= 0.085). Younger patients were, however, more likely to receive weaker (P= 0.011) and fewer analgesics (P < 0.001). Patients with previous abdominal surgery (P= 0.012), known chronic pain conditions (P= 0.029) or relevant comorbidities (P= 0.048) received stronger analgesia. Nationality (P= 0.244), employment status (P= 0.988), time of admission (P= 0.487) and known psychiatric illness (P= 0.579) did not influence pain management., Conclusions: No statistically significant gender-dependent differences in pain management were observed. However, younger patients received less potent analgesic treatment. There is no reason for certain groups to receive suboptimal treatment, and greater efforts should be made to offer consistent treatment to all patients., (© 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2010 Royal Australasian College of Physicians.)