EMTB9e: Interactive Ready for Review for Chapter 14

• The is a medical emergency, requiring prompt but gentle transport.
• The pain, tenderness, and abdominal distention associated with an acute abdomen are signs of , which may be caused by any condition that allows pus, blood, feces, urine, gastric juice, intestinal contents, bile, pancreatic juice, amniotic fluid, or other foreign material to lie within or adjacent to the peritoneum.
• In addition to abdominal disease or injury, problems in the gastrointestinal, genital, and urinary systems may also cause peritonitis.
• Appendicitis, perforated ulcer, cholecystitis, and diverticulitis are common causes of an acute abdomen. A strangulated hernia is another.
• Signs and symptoms of acute abdomen include pain, nausea, vomiting, and a tense, distended abdomen.
• Pain is common directly over the inflamed area of the peritoneum, or it may be referred to another part of the body. occurs because of the connections between the two different nervous systems supplying the parietal peritoneum and the visceral peritoneum.
• Your first priorities are to assess airway, breathing, and circulation and then apply . Next, obtain a pertinent medical history using OPQRST.
• Take vital signs and gently palpate the abdomen. The presence of abdominal tenderness will confirm the need for rapid transport to the emergency department.
• Do not give the patient with an acute abdomen anything by mouth. In all likelihood, the bowel is paralyzed, making it impossible for food to pass out of the stomach.
• A patient in shock or with any life-threatening condition should be transported without delay. Call for ALS assistance if your patient's condition deteriorates during transport.