ArticleAcademic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine2025
Trends in visits, imaging, and diagnosis for emergency department abdominal pain presentations in the United States, 2007-2019.
Article in Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed.
- Comparing the effectiveness of point-of-care ultrasound and conventional triage in patients presenting to the emergency department with abdominal pain.Internal and emergency medicine · 2026Trial
- Evaluation of a Generative Medical Event Foundation Model for Predicting Post-Discharge Trajectories in Emergency Department Abdominal Pain.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- Acute medical care resource utilization of frail older patients presenting at the emergency department.European geriatric medicine · 2026Article
- A-Lines below the Diaphragm - A Case Report of Occult Pneumoperitoneum.Journal of education & teaching in emergency medicine · 2026Article
- Evaluating the Diagnostic Value of Clinical and Laboratory Parameters in Older Adults with Abdominal Pain: A Retrospective Analysis of CT Predictors.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Article
- Clinical Features, CT Imaging Decisions and Yield by Age in Adults With Abdominal Pain in the Emergency Department.Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine · 2026Article
- Trends in Urgent Care Utilization Among Medicare Beneficiaries From 2012 to 2019.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- Global, Regional, and National Burden of Acute Abdominal Conditions in Females-Appendicitis, Ectopic Pregnancy, Paralytic Ileus and Intestinal Obstruction, and Urolithiasis, 1990-2021: A Systematic Analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021 with ARIMA Projections to 2030.International journal of women's health · 2026Article
- Beyond the Usual Age: A Case Report on Segmental Colitis Associated With Diverticulitis in a Young Patient.Cureus · 2025Article
- Eosinophilic Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis Presenting as Acute Abdomen: A Rare Case Report.Journal of inflammation research · 2025Article
- Trends in visits, imaging, and diagnosis for emergency department abdominal pain presentations in the United States, 2007-2019.Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesAbdominal pain is the most common reason for visit (RFV) to the emergency department (ED) for adults, yet no standardized diagnostic pathway exists for abdominal pain. Optimal management is age-specific; symptoms, diagnoses, and prognoses differ between young and old adults. Availability and knowledge of the effectiveness of various imaging modalities have also changed over time. We compared diagnostic imaging rates for younger versus older adults to identify practice patterns of abdominal imaging across age groups over time.
methodsWe analyzed weighted, nationally representative data from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey 2007-2019 for adult ED visits with a primary RFV of abdominal pain. We included 23,364 sampled visits, representing 123 million visits.
resultsFrom 2007 to 2019, total visits increased for ages 18-45 (p < 0.001), 46-64 (p < 0.001), and 65+ (p = 0.032). The percentage of visits with primary RFV of abdominal pain increased from 9.4% to 11.6% for ages 18-45, 7.8%-9.0% for ages 46-64, and 6.0%-6.5% for 65+. Computed tomography (CT) scan rates increased over time from 26.2% of all patients receiving a CT scan to 42.6%. Relative percentage change in abdominal CT scans was greatest for older adults, with a 30.3% increase, compared to 24.0% for middle-aged adults and 15.0% for young adults. Test positivity, defined as receiving an emergency general surgical diagnosis after CT or ultrasound, increased from 17.2% in 2007 to 22.9% in 2019 (p < 0.01). Of the older adults with abdominal pain in 2019, 13% received an X-ray only, which is neither sensitive nor specific for acute pathology in older adults.
conclusionsDespite more abdominal pain ED visits and increased imaging rates per visit, test positivity continues to rise. Our findings do not support claims that CT and ultrasound are being used less appropriately over time, but demonstrate widespread use of X-rays, which are potentially ineffective for abdominal pain.
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