Re: A randomized, controlled trial of routine early abdominal computed tomography in patients presenting with non-specific acute abdominal pain. A reply

Abstract

Sir—Dr Shaikh makes a useful comment about diagnoses such as non-specific abdominal pain, which are diagnoses of exclusion. The process used to arrive at that diagnosis uses clinical acumen in conjunction with pathology and radiological investigations; radiology, particularly computed tomography (CT), is not a substitute for clinical skills. The ready availability of CT will make the process of excluding other pathology easier for the clinician, which is reflected in the increase in diagnostic confidence seen in our study in such patients.