Ethiopian medical journal
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Ethiopian medical journal · Jan 2015
ACUTE ABDOMEN IN ADULTS: A TWO YEAR EXPERIENCE IN MEKELLE, ETHIOPIA.
The term acute abdomen denotes any sudden spontaneous non traumatic disorder whose main manifestation is in the abdominal area. It is one of the most commonly encountered emergencies in the practice of general surgery but there is no much study regarding the magnitude and pattern in Ethiopia and in the study area in particular. ⋯ The present study has depicted that acute abdomen commonly occurred in the 2nd to 3rd decades of life, majority caused by acute appendicitis and males were predominantly affected than females. Small bowel obstruction, sigmoid volvulus, PPUD and incarcerated hernias were other observed causes of acute abdomen.