The Acute Abdomen
The acute abdomen is a high-risk presentation rather than a diagnosis: assess physiology, pregnancy and surgical red flags in parallel with analgesia, targeted tests and imaging, then obtain early senior review and source control when needed.
Definition
The acute abdomen is a clinical syndrome of sudden or progressive abdominal pain in which serious gastrointestinal, vascular, urinary, gynaecological, metabolic, cardiac or respiratory disease must be considered and triaged before the exact diagnosis is known.
First principles
The acute abdomen is a syndrome, not a final diagnosis
Acute abdominal pain can arise from gastrointestinal, vascular, urological, gynaecological, metabolic, cardiac or respiratory disease. The first task is to decide how unwell the patient is and whether a time-critical intervention may be needed; the exact label can be refined during resuscitation, examination, imaging and specialist review.
This page is exam revision material, not medical advice, and must not be used for patient care. Always check drug doses against the BNF and current guidance. Full disclaimer.