Evaluate the delay in the management of acute abdomen at the Yaounde central hospital: a prospective cohort study

Background: Early surgical treatment remains the first factor of good prognosis for the management of acute abdominal diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the delay in the management of these pathologies in our context. Material and methods: We conducted a prospective cross-sectional study at the Yaoundé Central Hospital (HCY) over 7 months. All patients over 15 years of age presenting with an acute non-traumatic digestive surgical abdomen were included. The follow-up was done during the entire hospital stay of the patients. The dates and times of the different stages of management were recorded. Results: We collected 63 patients, 37 men, with a sex ratio M/F of 1.42. The mean age was 41.06±18 years. The mean time between arrival in the emergency room and the indication for surgery was 16.9 hours. Acute generalized peritonitis (n=26) was the most common diagnosis with 41.3% of cases. The average time between the indication for surgery and the availability of the surgical kit was 19 hours. The average time between the availability of the operating kit and the start of the surgical procedure was 6.2 hours. The complication rate was 33.3%. The mortality rate was 15.9%. Conclusion: Our delays in the management of acute abdomens are relatively long. A better organisation of the system and continuous training of the medical staff of peripheral hospitals would improve the prognosis of our patients.