If the cause of acute abdomen can be surgically removed (e. g., inflamed appendix) or surgically repaired (e. g., ruptured abdominal aneurysm), then surgery is considered definitive therapy.

They cite the example of a neighbor, with a tendency toward hypochondria and with web access, who fretted that a backache was actually an abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Abdominal or back pain or a tender abdomen suggests pancreatitis, ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm, peritonitis, and, in women of childbearing age, ruptured ectopic pregnancy.