Postpartum acute abdomen and its diagnostic challenges

Diagnostic paracentesis in the acute abdomen.

on its use as a diagnostic aid in the evaluation of closed abdominal injuries, acute pancreatitis, and primary pneumococcal or streptococcal peritonitis. Though no cases were reported in their paper, they also predicted a wider use for the test in the diagnosis of ruptured hollow viscera and bleeding ectopic pregnancies. Later studies have confirmed these observations, especially in relation to...

Diagnostic Challenges in Acute Appendicitis

Acute appendicitis is one of the commonest surgical problems (Humes et al, 2007) and though less common at the extremes of age, it can present classically or in an atypical manner in the very young and the elderly. Making a diagnosis of appendicitis is not always easy and it has led to the development of clinical scoring systems and a wider use of imaging techniques. A raised white cell count a...

Focus on abnormal air: diagnostic ultrasonography for the acute abdomen.

Emergency ultrasonography is a frequently used imaging tool in the bedside diagnosis of the acute abdomen. Classic indications include imaging for acute abdominal aneurysm, acute cholecystitis, hydronephrosis, and free intra-abdominal fluid in patients with trauma or suspected vascular or ectopic pregnancy rupture. Point-of-care sonographic imaging often emphasizes the diagnostic utility of flu...

[Acute abdomen].

Acute Abdomen

The term 'acute abdomen' represents a rapid onset of severe symptoms that may indicate lifethreatening intra-abdominal pathology. Pain is usually a feature but is not always the case. A pain-free acute abdomen is more likely in the elderly, in children and in the third trimester of pregnancy. [1] The differential diagnosis is extremely wide and definitive diagnosis is often difficult, particula...