[Acute abdomen calls for considerable care resources. Analysis of 3727 in-patients in the county of Stockholm during the first quarter of 1995].

A total of 3,727 in-patients with acute abdominal symptoms were identified during the first quarter of 1995 at the surgical clinics of the nine hospitals with emergency departments in the county of Stockholm. The diagnoses were: non-specific abdominal pain 24%; cholecystitis 9%; appendicitis 8%; bowel obstruction 7%; intra-abdominal malignancy, diseases of the urinary tract and peptic ulcer 6% each; gastrointestinal hemorrhage, diverticulitis of the colon and pancreatitis 5% each; other diseases as a cause of abdominal symptoms, 19%. 1,601 operations were performed of which 47% were endoscopic procedures. The mean duration of hospital stay was 4.8 days. The length of stay increased significantly with age. The age-related relative frequency of hospitalization due to acute abdominal pain was also dramatically higher in the elderly cohorts. These facts and the prognosis of an 18% increase of inhabitants 50 years of age or older until 2010 in Greater Stockholm signal an increased need of hospital resources for this large group of patients in the coming years.