title: [Diagnostic laparoscopy in nontraumatic acute abdomen].
abstract: Laparoscopy was performed in 49 patients admitted to the Emergency Service of Hospital das Clínicas of the Medical School of the University of São Paulo with a possible diagnosis of acute non traumatic abdomen. The procedure was indicated because routine clinical and laboratory investigations had proved inconclusive. Accuracy (96%), sensitivity (97.5%), specificity (89%) and positive (97.5%) and negative (89%) predictive values of laparoscopy were assessed in 41 patients with a clinical suspicion of inflammatory acute abdomen, in 5 with a clinical diagnosis of vascular abdomen, in 1 with a perforative acute abdomen, and in 2 patients to assess the viability of the small bowel after and intestinal resection due to mesenteric ischemia. Laparoscopy proved to be a reliable and simple procedure which facilitated the choice of the best therapeutic alternative in each case. A significant number of unnecessary laparotomies was avoided. No complications imputable to laparoscopy were observed in this series.
authors.affiliation: Hosp. das Clín. da Fac. de Med. da Univ. de São Paulo.
authors.forename: L F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Zantut
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Rodriguez Júnior
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Birolini
mesh_terms: D000006:Abdomen, Acute / Q000175:diagnosis*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
vernacular_title: Laparoscopia diagnóstica no abdome agudo não-traumático.