ABSTRACT
Diagnosis and management of the acute abdomen are fundamental in general surgery. Few
other conditions provide an equal challenge to the clinician’s knowledge and judgment.
This challenge becomes even more formidable when the patient is critically ill. The diag-
nosis of acute abdomen in the critically ill is made under two circumstances. The first is the
patient for whom acute abdomen is the original medical indication for admission to the
SICU; the second is in the setting of the postoperative surgical patient whose recovery
is interrupted by an acute abdominal event. Although the diagnostic regimen for each is
similar, the information available at the time of presentation to the surgical intensivist
may be considerably different.
