Evaluation of Female Patients of Childbearing Age Who Applied to the Emergency Medicine Deparment with Abdominal Pain

Objective: Abdominal pain, which has etiological diversity, is associated with an increasing number of patients in emergency departments. Early recognition of its life-threatening causes is important. This study aims to evaluate the diagnoses of female patients of reproductive age who presented with non-traumatic abdominal pain. Material and Methods: A prospective, cross-sectional study was conducted by including demographic and clinical information of women aged 18-50 years who presented to the emergency department of a tertiary hospital between March and September 2020 with non-traumatic abdominal pain. Results: A total of 167 women with non-traumatic abdominal pain were included in the study. The most common presenting complaint was nausea-vomiting (41.3%), and the average duration of symptoms was 24 hours. Physical examination revealed abdominal tenderness in 74.9% of patients. During diagnosis, blood, urine, and stool tests were requested for 95.2% of patients, and imaging tests such as erect abdominal radiograph, ultrasound, magnetic resonanse, or computed tomography were requested for 61.7% of patients. The most common diagnosis was urinary tract infection, accounting for 24% of cases. Conclusion: In addition to identifying the pathological condition causing abdominal pain, accompanying comorbidities and history of previous surgery must be investigated. Imaging tests play a crucial role in reaching the correct diagnosis. However, they also seen as a means of reducing emergency department overcrowding, hospitalization, and the need for surgical treatment.