Emergency medicine clinics of North America
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Emerg. Med. Clin. North Am. · May 2016
ReviewAcute Abdominal Pain in the Bariatric Surgery Patient.
Obesity is present in epidemic proportions in the United States, and bariatric surgery has become more common. Thus, emergency physicians will undoubtedly encounter many patients who have undergone one of these procedures. Knowledge of the anatomic changes specific to these procedures aids the clinician in understanding potential complications and devising an organized differential diagnosis. This article reviews common bariatric surgery procedures, their complications, and the approach to acute abdominal pain in these patients.
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Although most frequently presenting with lower abdominal pain, appendicitis, colitis, and diverticulitis can cause pain throughout the abdomen and can cause peritoneal and retroperitoneal symptoms. Evaluation and management of lower intestinal disease requires a nuanced approach by the emergency physician, sometimes requiring computed tomography, ultrasonography, MRI, layered imaging, shared decision making, serial examination, and/or close follow-up. ⋯ Appendicitis patients should be admitted. Diverticulitis and inflammatory bowel disease can frequently be managed on an outpatient basis, but may require admission and surgical consultation.
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Emergency department providers have become skilled at triaging patients with abdominal pain requiring surgical interventions. Abdominal pain mimics, medical conditions that cause the sensation of abdominal pain without abdominal abnormality, continue to puzzle the best physicians.
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Acute gastrointestinal bleeding is a commonly encountered chief complaint with a high morbidity and mortality. The emergency physician is challenged with prompt diagnosis, accurate risk assessment, and appropriate resuscitation of patients with gastrointestinal bleeding. Goals of care aim to prevent end-organ injury, manage comorbid illnesses, identify the source of bleeding, stop continued bleeding, support oxygen carrying capacity, and prevent rebleeding. This article reviews current strategies for risk stratification, diagnostic modalities, localization of bleeding, transfusion strategies, adjunct therapies, and reversal of anticoagulation.
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Epigastric pain is an extremely common complaint in the emergency department and has an associated broad differential diagnosis. In the differential it is important to consider cardiac causes that may be mistaken for gastrointestinal disorders as well as various serious intra-abdominal causes. This article highlights the limitations in laboratory testing and guides providers through the appropriate considerations for advanced imaging. Special attention is focused on acute pancreatitis, esophageal emergencies, and peptic ulcer disease/gastritis and their associated complications.