Intra-abdominal hypertension

Abstract

A 34-year-old man with no significant past medical history was admitted to hospital on 16 February, with a three-day history of right lower quadrant pain, followed by nausea and vomiting. On physical examination, he appeared to be dehydrated (dry mucous membranes) with low-grade pyrexia [38°C, tachycardia (102 beats per minute)], mild abdominal distension, reduced bowel sounds and maximal tenderness at McBurneys’s point.