Prof. Dr. Hamit OKUR

Acute abdomen is a term that describes the common clinical symptoms and signs of diseases that require inflammatory and surgical treatment in the intraperitoneal region. Acute abdomen is a clinical condition in which the main symptom and complaint is pain. Acute abdomen is not a disease name, but a complex of symptoms and findings that are formed and evaluated as a result of anamnesis, physical examination, laboratory examinations and sometimes observations that take a short or long time. Analgesics and antibiotics should not be administered to a patient with suspected acute abdomen until a definitive diagnosis is made. Otherwise, the clinical picture will be distorted, errors in diagnosis will be caused, and the patient's life may be in danger.
Acute abdomen
*Sometimes it may have clear signs guiding the diagnosis
*It is a clinical picture revealed by many surgical and internal diseases, where definite symptoms are often absent and diagnosis is delayed.
Diseases that cause an acute abdomen
1. Diseases where surgical intervention is absolutely necessary
2. Intra-abdominal pathologies that cause acute abdomen but do not require urgent surgery

3. Medical pathologies that cause acute abdomen
4. Extra-abdominal surgical diseases that cause acute abdomen
intra-abdominal pathologies requiring surgical intervention
1. Acute appendicitis
2. Meckel's diverticulitis
3. Mechanical intestinal obstructions
4. Peptic ulcer perforations
5. Lumen organ perforations
6. Pedicled organ torsion
7. Intra-abdominal abscesses
8. Perforated or suppurated cysts
9. Solid organ or tumor perforations
As can be seen, the general pathology resulting from these events is localized or general chemical and or bacterial peritonitis.
2. Intra-abdominal pathologies that cause acute abdomen but do not require urgent surgery
1. Acute gastritis
2. Acute pancreatitis
3. Primary peritonitis
4. Gallbladder pathologies

ACUTE ABDOMEN IN CHILDREN