Urogenit Tract Infect.  2018 Apr;13(1):14-20. 10.14777/uti.2018.13.1.14.

Epidemiology and Outcomes of Acute Flank Pain in University-Affiliated Regional Emergency Medical Centers

• Kim ST
• Hwang Y
• Park SC
• Lee JW

• KMID: 2410718
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.14777/uti.2018.13.1.14

Abstract

PURPOSE
Acute abdominal pain accounts for 7-10% of all emergency department visits. The purpose of this study is to investigate the epidemiology and outcome of acute flank pain at regional emergency medical centers (EMC) and to investigate the necessity of urologists.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
We retrospectively reviewed all records of EMC visits for flank pain between 1 July 2015 and 30 June 2017. The renal colic was defined according to the code allocation of the Korean standard classification of disease-6 code N132, N200-N203, and N210-N211. The results of this study were retrospectively analyzed and the characteristics of the patients.
RESULTS
The total number of visits to the EMC was 67,792, and the number of visits for acute abdominal pain was 9,641. The number of visits for acute flank pain was 1,133 and the number of patients was 1,018. The departments included emergency medicine (n=235), urology (n=711), internal medicine (n=132), general surgery (n=19), gynecology (n=10), and others (n=26). The causes of urological flank pain were urolithiasis in 628 cases, infection in 41 cases, and other diseases in 42 cases. Among these, 244 cases were admitted, and 193 cases of them were urolithiasis patients, and 171 patients underwent stone removal surgery.
CONCLUSIONS
According to our study, patients with flank pain accounted for 11.8% of patients with abdominal pain. However, considering hospitalization and frequency of surgery, it is necessary to take the national measurement for the long-term supply of urology.

Keyword

Renal colic; Epidemiology; Hospital emergency service

MeSH Terms

Abdominal Pain
Classification
Emergencies*
Emergency Medicine
Emergency Service, Hospital
Epidemiology*
Flank Pain*
Gynecology
Hospitalization
Humans
Internal Medicine
Renal Colic
Retrospective Studies
Urolithiasis
Urology

Figure

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  Fig. 1. Analysis of patient's arrival time in the emergency room.

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  Fig. 2. Seasonal analysis.

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