Background: Several conditions presenting with abdominal pain are associated with specific personality factorsalthough it is unclear if this is true also in emergency clinic settings.Objective: To study personality factors among patients with acute abdominal pain in an emergency ward.Methods: Consecutive patients (N=165) with abdominal symptoms at an emergency clinicwere administratedthe Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). Threemain groups were identified; specific abdominal diagnoses,(N = 77), non-specific abdominal pain, (N = 67) and organic dyspepsia (N = 21). TCI results were comparedbetween clinical groups and a control group (N=122).Results: As compared to individuals with specific abdominal diagnoses and controls, those with organic dyspepsiawere significantly more anxious (harm avoidance), (p = 0.003), and had lower ability to cooperate (cooperativeness)(p=0.048 and p=0.004 respectively). They were also significantlymore unpretentious (self-transcendence)compared to individuals with specific abdominal diagnoses (p=0.048), non-specific abdominal pain (p=0.012)and controls (p=0.004) and evidenced lessmature character (sumof self-directedness and cooperativeness) comparedto those with specific abdominal diagnoses and controls (p =0.003).Conclusion: Individuals seeking care at an emergency clinic with organic dyspepsia showed a distinguishable patternof personality features that distinguished them from the other comparison groups. Therefore an evaluation of personalityfactorsmay add a new dimension to the diagnostic investigation in the emergency care of abdominal painand contribute to the optimization of the treatment of organic dyspepsia.

Background:Abdominal pain is a common cause of visits to emergency facilities. It is related to psychiatric disorders in primary care, but it is unclear if this also holds in emergency departments. Objective:Is to explore potential differences between diagnostic groups in patients with acute abdominal pain in an emergency ward regarding concurrent somatic-and psychiatric symptoms, 'Length of stay' (LOS) and perceived health. Method:The patients (N = 137) were divided into three groups; organic dyspepsia, specific abdominal diagnoses, and non-specific abdominal pain. The Prime-MD results for extra gastrointestinal symptoms (outside the gastrointestinal tract), psychiatric symptoms, frequency of symptoms, self-reported health, and LOS within the month before admittance were compared between the diagnostic groups. Results: There was a significant positive correlation between the number of physical extra gastrointestinal and psychiatric symptoms (p < .001), especially regarding anxiety (p < .001) and depression (p = .002). Patients with organic dyspepsia reported significantly more total (p = .016), extragastrointestinal (p = .026) (chest pain;p = .017, dizziness;p = .004, palpitations;p = .005, insomnia;p = .005 and worries;p = .001), and summarized anxiety and depression symptoms (p = .001-0.002) besides poorer general health (p < .001) compared to other abdominal conditions. Also, organic dyspepsia patients needed longer hospital stay than the non-specific abdominal group (p = .002) but similar to the specific abdominal disorders group. Conclusion:Organic dyspepsia is accompanied by more co-occurring physical, anxiety and depression symptoms as well as poorer perceived health than other abdominal pain conditions and comparably increased LOS. This suggests that psychiatric consultations might be beneficial for diagnosing and treating psychiatric comorbidity in emergency care.