• V M Banz, O Sperisen, M de Moya, H Zimmermann, D Candinas, S G Mougiakakou, and A K Exadaktylos.
• Department of Visceral Surgery, Inselspital, Berne University Hospital and University of Berne, Berne, Switzerland. vanessa.banz@gmx.ch
• Intern Med J. 2012 Apr 1; 42 (4): 395-401.

Background/AimAcute non-specific abdominal pain (NSAP) is prevalent in 6-25% of the general population and is a common cause of admission to the emergency department (ED). Despite involvement of substantial financial and human resources, there are few data on long-term outcome after initial diagnosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate long-term outcome of patients initially admitted with NSAP to an ED.MethodsThe study involves a 5-year follow-up analysis of prospectively collected data on 104 patients admitted to our ED in 2003 with NSAP. Primary end-point was clinical outcome 5 years after initial ED admission. Predictive risk factors were assessed using a multivariate regression model.Results29 patients (28%) had recurring NSAP 5 years after initial ED admission, 76% of these patients received (multiple) diagnostic examinations and 13% eventually required diagnostic (or therapeutic) surgery. Although approximately half of patients with recurring NSAP eventually received a definite diagnosis, 30% still suffered from recurrent abdominal pain. Using regression analysis, no single factor in our dataset could be identified as a predictor for NSAP persistence.ConclusionThe long-term impact for patients initially admitted to our ED with acute NSAP is significant--28% of patients continue to suffer from recurring NSAP after 5 years. NSAP therefore remains, despite more advanced diagnostic tools, a true and, as yet, unsolved problem.© 2010 The Authors. Internal Medicine Journal © 2010 Royal Australasian College of Physicians.

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