Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32418953›Full record

ArticleInternal medicine (Tokyo, Japan)2020

The Diagnostic Process for the Evaluation of Acute Abdominal Pain by Resident Trainees in Japan: A Cross-sectional Study.

Kaori Amari, Norio Fukumori, Keizo Anzai, Shu-Ichi Yamashita

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Internal medicine (Tokyo, Japan), 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

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1citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

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3 · Its place in the literature

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1 citing paper in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Kaori AmariDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Saga-Ken Medical Center Koseikan, Japan.
Norio FukumoriEducation and Research Center for Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Saga University, Japan.
Keizo AnzaiDepartment of Hepatology, Diabetes, and Endocrinology, Faculty of Medicine, Saga University, Japan.
Shu-Ichi YamashitaDepartment of General Medicine, Saga University Hospital, Japan.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objective Acute abdominal pain (AAP) of diverse etiology is a common chief complaint of patients who present to the emergency department (ED). AAP may pose a diagnostic challenge to physicians in training. We aimed to evaluate whether or not resident trainee doctors examine patients presenting with AAP in a Japanese acute-care hospital following Kendall's diagnostic algorithm. Methods We conducted a retrospective medical chart review from January 2015 to December 2016. Patients Patients ≥50 years old who presented to the ED within 7 days of the onset of AAP who were evaluated by residents at the ED of an acute care hospital were enrolled in this study. Patients transported by ambulance and referred from other hospitals and classified as level 1 or 2 according to the Japanese version of the Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale were excluded. Data, including the clinical history, location and character of pain, and age and gender of patients as well as the level of experience of residents, were abstracted from charts. We evaluated the concordance rate between the actual diagnostic process followed by residents and Kendall's diagnostic algorithm for AAP. Results We analyzed 466 patients (mean age 67.6 years) in the study who were evaluated and diagnosed by 123 residents. The concordance rate between the diagnostic procedures performed by residents and those suggested by Kendall's diagnostic algorithm was 61.2%. A low concordance rate was observed among patients with peritoneal signs, shock or toxic appearance (25.0%), suggested acute coronary syndromes (ACS) (55.1%), epigastric or right upper-quadrant pain (52.8%), and left upper-quadrant pain (55.6%). Abdominal ultrasonography is one of the recommended examinations for patients with signs of peritoneal irritation, shock or toxic appearance, right lower-quadrant pain, and left upper- or lower-quadrant pain, but the rates were relatively low at 25.0%, 34.4%, 31.8%, and 26.7%, respectively. Conclusion Abdominal ultrasonography required by Kendall's diagnostic algorithm was not performed appropriately in patients with symptoms and signs of peritonitis, shock or toxic appearance, right lower-quadrant pain, and left upper- or lower-quadrant pain or in female patients by resident trainees. Our findings underscore the importance of providing resident doctors with focused training concerning ultrasonography by attending physicians.

Indexed as

Internship and ResidencyAbdominal PainAcute Coronary SyndromeAgedAlgorithmsCross-Sectional StudiesEmergency Service, HospitalFemaleHumansJapanMaleMiddle AgedPeritonitisPhysical ExaminationRetrospective StudiesShock, Septicabdominal painconcordance ratediagnostic algorithmphysical examinationresident

Identifiers

PMID32418953
PMCPMC7303460

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