acute abdomen, an abnormal condition characterized by the acute onset of severe pain within the abdominal cavity. An acute abdomen requires immediate evaluation and diagnosis because it may indicate a condition that calls for surgical intervention. Information about the onset, duration, character, location, and symptoms associated with the pain is critical in making an accurate diagnosis. The patient is asked what decreases or increases the pain; constant, increasing pain is generally associated with appendicitis and diverticulitis, whereas intermittent pain more likely indicates an intestinal obstruction, ureteral calculi, or biliary calculi. Appendicitis may often be differentiated from a perforating ulcer by the slower onset or development of pain. Although the patient’s report of the location of the pain is sometimes misleading because of referral, radiation, or reflection of pain, it may serve to identify a specific organ or system. Factors in the patient’s history that are useful in the diagnosis and management of an acute abdomen include changes in bowel habits, weight loss, bloody stool, diarrhea, menses, vomiting, clay-colored stool, and previous abdominal surgery. Also called surgical abdomen. See also abdominal pain.
