Chapter 1: Role of the Accident & Emergency Department

Abdominal pain makes up 5% of all emergency department (ED) presentations. Despite our best efforts, a quarter of our patients are discharged and a third admitted with a label of undifferentiated abdominal pain. The challenges of evaluating an abdominal pain patient in the ED are multiple and include a heterogeneous population, benign conditions and life-threatening ones, intra-abdominal and even extra-abdominal ailments. This is compounded by the fact that most associated symptoms lack specificity and atypical presentations are not uncommon…