The authors studied restropectively 117 patients with nontraumatic acute abdomen, who were submitted to diagnostic and therapeutic laparoscopy, at Casa de Saúde Santa Martha - Niterói. In 96,6% of the patients lhe procedure confirmed the diagnosis. 74,4% were treated by this method, 21,4% by laparotomy and 4,3% received clinical treatment. It was noted that the earlier the diagnostic laparoscopy was performed, the bigger were the chances of doing therapeutic laparoscopy (p value < 0,05). The patients treated by laparoscopic surgery were fed and were discharged from hospital earlier than the patients treated by laparotomy (p value < 0,05 and p < 0,01). The complication rate was 13,7% and the mortality rate was 2,6%. The authors conclude that laparoscopy is a good diagnostic and therapeutic method. There is also a good correlation with this method and a quicker recovering of the patients.
Acute abdome; Laparoscopy