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

Abstract

Sir—As a former surgical trainee and current radiology registrar, the randomized, control trial by Sala and colleagues was certainly of interest. One of the conclusions of the study is that diagnosis is arrived at earlier using computed tomography (CT). However, I noted that non-specific abdominal pain was the final diagnosis in 20 out of 99 patients. It would be of interest to know whether this diagnosis was made once the CT examination was reported as normal, or when the patients' symptoms had resolved. Re: A randomized, controlled trial of routine early abdominal computed tomography in patients presenting with non-specific acute abdominal pain. A replyClinical RadiologyVol. 63Issue 5PreviewSir—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. Full-Text PDF