Abstract

Background: Pain in the abdomen is the most critical sign of an acute abdominal pathologic process. It is the symptom that brings the patient to his physician and the sign that deserves the utmost care in the evaluation. This study aimed to evaluate the epidemiology and the outcomes of abdominal pain in ED.
Methodology: This is a Hospital-based Cross-sectional study. This project was performed in the emergency department in KKGH, Majmaah municipal area. Patients are attending the emergency department during March and April of 2017. Ethical approval will be obtained from the ethical committee of AlMajmaah University Along with approval from King Khalid General Hospital Directory to run the project.
Results: The most frequent cause of abdominal pain in the present study was Dysmenorrhea (15.6%), Gastritis (12.4%), Simple pregnancy (11%), nonspecific abdominal pain (8.5%), Appendicitis (8.6%), Urinary tract infection (6.7 %) and acute cholecystitis (3.2%), Intestinal obstruction (2.85%). Almost 74.2% of studied patients were taken medication while 25.7% were admitted.
Conclusion: Abdominal pain is the most common reasons for presentation to outpatient, inpatient and ER department leading to substantial health care costs. Both organic and functional disorders of the Gastro-Intestinal tract can cause abdominal pain. For that our study aims to explore common diseases with the primary complaint of abdominal pain in Majmaah owing to the few reviews in this area in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Key words: Abdominal pain, nonspecific abdominal pain, renal colic, appendicitis, surgery, epidemiology, Emergency Department (ED)