[Acute abdomen in octogenarians]

From january 1972 to september 1983, 215 patients of eighty and more (60 M. and 155 F.) entered for acute abdomen, have undergone a clinical analysis to principally define the main factors for morbidity and mortality. The authors insist on the poor value of the clinical and biological symptoms which delayed a correct diagnosis and therefore the correct treatment. For 30.7% of the cases, the treatment was medical and for 69.3% surgical. During the medical treatment, the morbidity rated at 12.1% and the mortality at 46.9%. During the first 30 postoperative days the rate of complications was of 61.7% and the rate of mortality of 46.9%. Both are essentially due to associated illnesses: pulmonary, cardiac and renal. The figures are compared with those of the literature. Besides, a progressively aging population is observed: the rate of patients of more than 80 years went from 7.2% in 1972 to 12.4% in 1983. This is probably due to the present quality of pre- and post surgical treatments and the improving of the medico-surgical reanimation technics.