title: Prognosis of elderly patients with non-specific abdominal pain.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the long term outcome of patients over 65 years presenting with acute non-specific abdominal pain.
  
  
  METHODS
  District general hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective cohort survey.
  
  
  METHODS
  43 patients with non-specific abdominal pain, median age 75.5 years, presenting in 1985.
  
  
  METHODS
  Case notes were reviewed and a questionnaire sent to the patients' general practitioners to assess long term outcome.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was little evidence that these patients subsequently developed or died from a disease requiring surgery. However, this patient group did have a significantly poorer five year survival than a representative control group because of cardiorespiratory disorders.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Non-specific abdominal pain in elderly patients should not be regarded as harmless but may have medical rather than surgical implications.
authors.affiliation: St John's Hospital, Livingston, West Lothian, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Smyth
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Stonebridge
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Freeland
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Macleod
mesh_terms: D015746:Abdominal Pain / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate