Background: Acute abdomen is a medical condition referring to the sudden onset of severe abdominal pain along with vomiting or nausea, requiring immediate attention and treatment interventions. This study was carried out to assess the level of awareness of medical students about acute abdomen in Saudi Arabia and to explore the relationship between the level of awareness and different socio-demographic factors.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted between March and August 2020 in Saudi Arabia, among medical students from different colleges who were randomly enrolled in this study. An online self-administered questionnaire was used in the data collection.
Results: This study comprised 400 medical students; most of them were male (62%), aged between 21 and 23 years, and Saudi nationals (79%). Findings of this study indicated that the mean score of the participantsÂ’ answers was 23.4 (9.4) out of 32 points. There was relatively sufficient awareness among medical students about acute abdomen in Saudi Arabia, wherein 232 (58%) of the participants were recognized with a good level of awareness, while 168 (42%) had a poor level. Significant differences was observed between gender (p = 0.011), age (p = 0.00), nationality (p = 0.03), and educational year (p = 0.00) in relation to the level of awareness.
Conclusion: The level of awareness about acute abdomen was relatively sufficient among medical students in Saudi Arabia. However, there was a significant relationship between gender, age, nationality, and educational year in relation to the level of awareness.
Key words: Acute abdomen, awareness, abdominal pain.
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