Interactive Ready for Review: Interactivities

Interactive Ready for Review for Chapter 25 - Nontraumatic Abdominal Emergencies

is a medical emergency requiring prompt but gentle transport.

The pain, tenderness, and abdominal distention associated with acute abdomen are signs of , which may be caused by any condition that allows pus, blood, feces, urine, gastric juice, intestinal contents, bile, pancreatic juice, amniotic fluid, or other foreign material to accumulate within or adjacent to the peritoneum.

In addition to abdominal disease or injury, problems in the gastrointestinal, genital, and urinary systems may cause .

Appendicitis, perforated gastric ulcer, cholecystitis, diverticulitis, and a strangulated hernia are common causes of an .

Signs and symptoms of acute abdomen include pain, nausea, vomiting, and a tense, distended abdomen.

Pain is common directly over the inflamed area of the peritoneum, or it may be referred to another part of the body. occurs because of the connections between the two different nervous systems supplying the parietal peritoneum and the visceral peritoneum.

Your first priorities are to assess airway, breathing, and circulation and then apply oxygen. Assist ventilation if the patient is breathing inadequately. Next, obtain a pertinent medical history: When did the symptoms begin? How have they changed over time? Where exactly is the pain? What does it feel like? How long does it last, and how intense is it? Has there been a loss of fluid volume as a result of vomiting or diarrhea?

Take vital signs, and gently palpate the abdomen. The presence of abdominal will confirm the need to transport the patient to the emergency department in an urgent manner.

Do not give the patient with an acute abdomen anything by mouth. Analgesics should also be avoided. In all likelihood, the bowel is paralyzed, making it impossible for food to pass out of the stomach.