Failure to reliably recognise acute abdominal emergencies
First to latest report 25 Feb 2014 — 8 Nov 2024
Reports that mention this concern
4
Times this concern has been raised
4
Stated actions linked to this concern
13
What this concern includes
Includes failures of controls specifically dedicated to recognising, assessing or escalating suspected acute abdominal emergencies, including appreciation of the dangers of an acute abdomen, adequate exploration of abdominal pain and recognition of serious abdominal presentations that require urgent clinical action.
What is not included
Excludes generic failures to recognise acute illness or clinical deterioration where no acute abdominal presentation is identified.
Excludes non-abdominal chest-pain, respiratory, cardiac or thromboembolic concerns unless abdominal symptoms are a material part of the acute-abdominal emergency assessment.
Excludes failures in treatment, referral or follow-up after an acute abdominal emergency has been reliably recognised and assessed.
Excludes generic training, communication or documentation deficiencies that are not directly tied to recognition or assessment of an acute abdominal emergency.
Trends
Reports over time
Reports mentioning this concern, over time
Reports about this concern issued each year.
* 2026 is projected from reports observed to 7 Sep 2026.
Most frequent recipients
Most frequent recipients
Reports about this concern sent to each recipient.
NHS England1
Royal College of General Practitioners1
Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health1
Royal College of Radiologists1
Royal College of Surgeons of England1
Royal Sussex County Hospital1
Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust1
University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust1
NHS trust2
Executive non-departmental public body1
Healthcare site1
Health professional body1
Professional body1
Reports and published responses 4 reports
See individual reports that have raised this concern, and the actions taken in response
Inner South London
Concerns raised1
Failure to recognise retrocaecal appendicitis as a presentation of acute appendicitis or generalised abdominal pain
This report raised 5 other concerns. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
Linked responses
Royal College of General Practitioners
Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
Royal College of Surgeons of England
Stated actions An action is something a respondent says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to the concern raised.7
Royal College of General Practitioners
Continue supporting educational resources on appendicitis and managing diagnostic uncertainty through the GP Curriculum and continuing professional development.
Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
Signpost members to the Best Practice Pathway Resource for paediatric acute abdominal pain and appendicectomy.
Royal College of Surgeons of England
Share the report with Specialty Advisory Committee Chairs for consideration in upcoming curriculum reviews.
Royal College of Surgeons of England
Review CCRISP course content to determine whether it should explicitly refer to retrocaecal appendicitis.
Royal College of Surgeons of England
Launch the updated CCRISP course version incorporating the completed content review.
Royal College of Surgeons of England
Redevelop the Clinical Skills in Emergency Surgery course while reviewing whether to explicitly refer to retrocaecal appendicitis.
Royal College of Surgeons of England
Publish an anonymised educational Surgical Safety vignette about the case in the specified surgical journals and disseminate it to a wide surgical audience.
Respondent positions A position is what a respondent says about the concern when they do not describe a specific action.1
Royal College of Surgeons of England
Current surgical curricula adequately cover retrocaecal appendicitis, so no additional curriculum change is considered necessary beyond ongoing review.
Existing arrangements considered sufficientThe respondent said that existing arrangements were sufficient, so no further action was needed.
Cheshire
Concerns raised1
Failure of diagnostic guidance to require consideration and exclusion of abdominal aortic aneurysm when diagnosing acute pancreatitis
Linked responses
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
NHS England
Stated actions An action is something a respondent says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to the concern raised.3
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
Review pancreatitis guideline section 1.2 and consider revising wording about raised lipase or amylase levels and alternative conditions.
NHS England
Review the coroner’s concerns about clinical guidance for abdominal aortic aneurysm and acute pancreatitis.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
Amend the pancreatitis guideline to clarify that raised lipase or amylase levels support diagnosis but may occur in other conditions.
Respondent positions A position is what a respondent says about the concern when they do not describe a specific action.4
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
Guidelines cannot cover all differential diagnoses because each guideline has a defined scope relating to specific medical conditions.
Outside remitThe respondent said that this matter was outside its role or authority.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
Individual clinicians are responsible for treatment decisions, using professional experience, training and clinical judgement alongside NICE guidelines.
Redirects responsibilityThe respondent said that another organisation was responsible for deciding or taking action.
NHS England
Responsibility for relevant clinical guidelines falls outside NHS England’s remit and authority.
Outside remitThe respondent said that this matter was outside its role or authority.
NHS England
Concerns about relevant clinical guidelines should be referred to the organisations responsible for producing them.
Redirects responsibilityThe respondent said that another organisation was responsible for deciding or taking action.
Black Country
Concerns raised1
Failure to undertake an urgent CT scan for acute abdominal presentations
This report raised 4 other concerns. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
Linked response
Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust
Stated actions An action is something a respondent says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to the concern raised.3
Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust
Update and reissue the acute abdomen guideline with a pathway flowchart, early CT emphasis, and mandatory consultant discussion before surgical referral.
Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust
Embed the updated acute abdomen guidance through staff dissemination, intranet publication, team discussions, induction and teaching, handover reminders, and anonymised case-learning discussions.
Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust
Audit the acute abdomen pathway to assess the effectiveness of the updated guidance and related safety activities.
Brighton and Hove
Concerns raised1
Failure to appreciate the dangers of an acute abdomen
This report raised 10 other concerns. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
No linked response statements
No respondent-stated action or position is linked to these concerns in the published data.
Actions and positions describe what organisations say in published responses. Implementation is not independently verified.
Actions and positions describe what organisations say in published responses. Implementation is not independently verified.