Abstract
Abstract: This article sought to investigate the characteristics of patients treated with acute abdominal pain (AAD) in a Computed Tomography (CT) service and its relationship with the most frequent diagnoses. It is known that Brazil does not have an information system on the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of patients with AAD treated in emergency services. The sensitivity of the clinical history, physical examination and laboratory data are high for the differentiation between urgent and non-urgent causes, but insufficient for the specific diagnosis. The clinical, laboratory and imaging characteristics varied according to the sex and age of the patients, interfering in the initial and final diagnoses after the CT scan. Thus, CT influences decision-making in urgency and emergency leading to changes in the main diagnosis, being a useful imaging method in the etiological characterization. However, there is a need to combine with anamnesis and physical examination in the suspected diagnosis, considering the age and sex of the patients.