Epidemiological, Etiological, Therapeutic and Evolutionary Aspects of Acute Surgical Abdomens Operated at the University Hospital of Bobo-Dioulasso

Abstract

Surgical acute abdomens represent a significant proportion of surgical emergencies in terms of frequency, morbidity and mortality. The aim of our study was to describe the epidemiological, diagnostic, therapeutic and evolutionary aspects of acute surgical abdomens operated in the surgical emergency department of the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Souro Sanou (CHUSS). This was a retrospective descriptive study of 426 cases of surgical acute abdomens operated in the CHUSS surgical emergency department from 1 January to 31 December 2015. These 426 cases accounted for 24.14% of the emergency interventions carried out in the CHUSS surgical emergency department. These were 314 (73.7%) men and 112 (26.3%) women with an average age of 30 years. Among the causes, there were 187 (43.9%) cases of acute generalized peritonitis, 71 (16.7%) cases of acute intestinal occlusions, 49 (11.5%) cases of acute appendicitis, 38 (9.4%) cases of strangulated parietal hernias, 16 (3.8%) cases of abdominal contusions, and 15 (3.5%) cases of penetrating wounds of the abdomen. The appendectomy was the most performed gesture with 112 (26.3%) cases. The time to surgery was greater than 48 hours in 29 (6.8%) cases. Complications were observed in 68 (16%) cases with 35 (8.2%) cases of parietal infections, 18 (4.2%) cases of postoperative peritonitis. The death occurred in 37 (8.7%) patients. The average hospital stay was 8.7 days. Improving the prognosis of acute surgical abdomens requires early diagnosis and treatment, as well as better postoperative follow-up.