Acute abdominal emergencies and spinal cord injury; our experiences: a retrospective clinical study

Abstract

Study design: Retrospective review of medical notes. Objective: To describe clinical, laboratory and examination findings of acute abdominal emergencies (AAE) in Turkish patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) and to examine diagnosis and management of AAE in early stages. Setting: Inpatient rehabilitation unit of tertiary research hospital. Methods: The medical records of 237 SCI patients were reviewed. The SCI patients who were recruited in the study had been diagnosed with AAE and treated medically or surgically while they were inpatients at the rehabilitation clinic. Results: Nine out of 237 SCI patients had been diagnosed with one of the AAE. Three patients were AIS A, three patients were AIS B and three patients were AIS C. The most common AAE was acute cholecystitis; three patients were diagnosed with this. The others were single cases of intra-abdominal hemorrhage, intra-abdominal abscess, tuba-ovarian abscess, subileus, Crohn's disease and cholangitis. Three of the patients were treated with surgery and six were treated medically. The most common symptoms in patients were fever, abdominal pain and abdominal discomfort (four of AAE). Three patients had abdominal tenderness and abdominal distension. The expected findings of AAE, rebound and defense, were positive only in two patients. Conclusion: Gall bladder disease is a common cause of AAE. The classic symptoms and examination findings will usually not facilitate acute abdomen diagnosis in the SCI group, so we should be aware of patients' subjective complaints and when necessary use advanced imaging techniques immediately.