Emergency laparoscopy for acute abdominal conditions: a prospective study

Currently, emergency laparoscopic surgery for acute abdominal conditions has become the favored surgical approach; therefore, we investigated the diagnostic accuracy and therapeutic efficacy of laparoscopy in acute abdominal pain in Saudi Arabian patients.

In this prospective study, 176 patients with acute abdominal pain (113 patients with pain localized to the right iliac region [group A] and 63 patients with generalized abdominal pain [group B] underwent emergency laparoscopy between January 2002 and December 2006. We evaluated the initial clinical diagnosis, the laparoscopic diagnosis, and the outcome in these two groups of patients.

In group A, a definitive diagnosis was established at laparoscopy in 89% of patients, and it was therapeutic in 81.4% of the patients, and in 9 patients (8%) a conversion to laparotomy was necessary a to manage their condition. In group B, the diagnosis was accurate in 87% of patients, and it was therapeutic in 79.4% of the patients, and in 5 patients (8%) a conversion to laparotomy was necessary. There was no mortality.

The emergency laparoscopy is a diagnostic and therapeutic option in the majority of acute abdominal pain conditions.