2021 Volume 37 Issue 1 Pages 2-10
It is not uncommon for acute abdomen to require some therapeutic intervention, such as surgery, and appropriate measures must be taken within a limited period. However, the causes of acute abdomen are diverse, and the diagnosis is not easy. Usually, a comprehensive diagnosis is made based on medical history, physical examination, blood tests, and imaging studies, and a treatment plan is determined. However, the number of radiologists in Japan is much less than in other countries, and only a few facilities, such as university hospitals, are capable of providing 24-hour, 365-day care. Under these circumstances, the physician in charge of each department has no choice but to perform everything from selection of tests to diagnosis. In order to do so, it is necessary to understand the advantages and disadvantages of each imaging study, and to consider what kind of information each study can provide that will affect the treatment plan.
