Clinical-epidemiological profile of pacients with acute abdomen at a hospital in Salvador

Abstract

Study design: Cross-sectional study. Objective: The objective of this study was to describe the clinical and epidemiological profile of patients with acute abdomen at a Hospital in Salvador, providing a better understanding of its epidemiology and thus helping the clinical practice of the health professionals of the region. Methods: This is a descriptive, retrospective study. The sample consisted of patients admitted to the Hospital do Subúrbio, in the year of 2016, victims of acute abdomen. Results: Among the types of acute abdomen, the inflammatory was the most prevalent. The most common etiologies in this study were acute appendicitis and gastrointestinal tract malignancy. Almost all patients were surgically treated (95.1%). The mean hospitalization time was 192 hours. Twenty-two percent of patients required intensive care. Patient lethality was estimated at 17.1%. Twenty-nine patients had complications other than death. The acute abdomen whose patients needed more intensive care was the vascular. The type of acute abdomen with the highest lethality in this study was the acute obstructive abdomen. Conclusions: The acute abdomen is a highly lethal condition, being important its diagnosis and early management. The clinical profile most found in this study was a patient affected by an acute inflammatory abdomen, and the most commonly presented pathology was acute appendicitis.