Abnormal Ultrasonographic Findings among Referred Patients with Pain Abdomen in the Radiology Department of a Tertiary Care Center: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

INTRODUCTION: Correct and prompt diagnosis is essential for the appropriate management of patients. Often, children and their caretakers cannot provide a reliable history to allow clinicians to determine the cause of the pain. This study's objective was to find out the prevalence of abnormal ultrasonographic findings among referred patients with pain abdomen in the radiology department of a tertiary care center of Nepal. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among patients in the out-patient and emergency department with complaints of abdominal pain from 2021 April 5 to August 30 in a tertiary care hospital. Ethical clearance was taken from IRC (registration no: 423/2021). The convenience sampling method was used. Written informed consent was taken from each study participant. Collected data were entered and analyzed on Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 20. Point estimate at 95% Confidence Interval was calculated along with frequency and percentage for binary data. RESULTS: Among 250 patients with pain abdomen referred to the department of radiology, 169 (67.6%) (61.80-73.40 at 95% Confidence Interval) had abnormal ultrasonographic findings. Mean age of the patients was 39.4±17.9 years. Initial clinical diagnosis was in agreement with the abdominal ultrasound diagnosis in 57 (22.8%) patients. For the remaining 193 patients, the diagnosis obtained from abdominal ultrasound differed from the initial clinical diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: Most of the cases of pain abdomen showed abnormalities in ultrasound. Clinical evaluation should be used together with ultrasound abdomen in order to arrive at a correct diagnosis.