Early CT improves diagnosis in abdominal pain

Computed tomography of the abdominopelvic region undertaken in patients with acute abdominal pain soon after admission may reduce inpatient mortality and length of hospital stay. Ng and colleagues (p 1387) randomised 120 patients with acute abdominal pain of unknown cause to early computed tomography or standard practice. The falls in inpatient mortality and length of stay were not statistically significant, but early computed tomography missed fewer serious diagnoses than other standard investigations.

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Relevant Article

Evaluation of early abdominopelvic computed tomography in patients with acute abdominal pain of unknown cause: prospective randomised study

Chaan S Ng, Christopher J E Watson, Christopher R Palmer, Teik Choon See, Nigel A Beharry, Barbara A Housden, J Andrew Bradley, and Adrian K Dixon
BMJ 2002 325: 1387. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]