Background Surgical acute abdomen is a sudden onset of severe abdominal symptoms (pain, vomiting, constipation etc.) indicative of a possible life-threatening intra-abdominal pathology, with most cases requiring immediate surgical intervention. Most studies from developing countries have focused on complications related to delayed diagnosis of specific abdominal problems like intestinal obstruction or acute appendicitis and only a few studies have assessed factors related to the delay in patients with acute abdomen. This study focused on the time from the onset of a surgical acute abdomen to presentation to determine factors that led to delayed reporting among these patients at the Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH) and aimed to close the knowledge gap on the incidence, presentation, etiology, and death rates for acute abdomen in Tanzania. Methods We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study at MNH, Tanzania. Patients with a clinical diagnosis of the surgical acute abdomen were consecutively enrolled in the study over a period of 6 months and data on the onset of symptoms, time of presentation to the hospital, and events during the illness were collected. Results Age was significantly associated with delayed hospital presentation, with older groups presenting later than younger ones. Informal education and being uneducated were factors contributing to delayed presentation, while educated groups presented early, albeit the difference was statistically insignificant (p = 0.121). Patients working in the government sector had the lowest percentage of delayed presentation compared to those in the private sector and self-employed individuals, however, the difference was statistically insignificant. Family and cohabiting individuals showed late presentation (p = 0.03). Deficiencies in health care staff on duty, unfamiliarity with the medical facilities, and low experience in dealing with emergency cases were associated with the factors for delayed surgical care among patients. Delays in the presentation to the hospital increased mortality and morbidity, especially among patients who needed emergency surgical care. Conclusion Delayed reporting for surgical care among patients with surgical acute abdomen in underdeveloped countries like Tanzania is often not due to a single reason. The causes are distributed across several levels including the patient’s age and family, deficiency in medical staff on duty and lack of experience in dealing with emergency cases, educational level, working sectors, socioeconomic and sociocultural status of the country.

Background: Acute abdomen is a sudden and severe abdominal pain associated with nausea or vomiting. Its prevalence is high in east Africa. In Tanzania, the most common cases of the acute abdomen are malignancies, intestinal obstruction and peptic ulcers. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in a general surgery clinic at Muhimbili National Hospital - Tanzania from March 2022 to August 2022. It aimed to show the contribution of Social-Demographic as well as health-related factors to the late presentation of Surgical Acute Abdomen in patients attending Muhimbili National Hospital in Tanzania. The data were inserted and analyzed by SPSS, a Frequency distribution table was used to summarize social-demographic characteristics, and a Chi-Square (Fisher Exact) was used to find an association of those factors with the Surgical Abdomen. Results: A total of 170 patients participated in the study, of them males were 115 (67.6%) and the females were 55 (32.4%). The mean age was 37 years with a standard deviation of 20 years in which the Maximum and Minimum were 85 and 0.2 years respectively. Age was a significant (p-0.05) factor in the late acute surgical abdomen in which an older group (76.2%) was shown to be presented Late than other groups. Non-formal (83.3%) and un education (70.0%) were the strongest factors in leading to Late and Acute Abdominal Surgery while educated groups like University/College had shown to be presented early (59.9%) to the Acute abdominal Surgery although was not a statically significant (p-0.121). Government employment had shown less effect (44.4%) on causing late surgical acute abdomen than private and self-ones (52.6%, 54.1%) (p-0.94). The family had shown a statically significant (p-0.03) effect on the emergence of the acute abdominal surgery in which the cohabiting one had an increasing chance (88.9%) of being Late to the hospital for surgical procedures. An appropriate surgeon’s task force (52.7%) was also a factor to cause a late surgical acute abdomen for those patients although was not statically significant (p-0.751). Conclusion: Non-formal education, cohabiting family, self and private employment, adequate health staff and increasing age were the factors contributing to Late Surgical Acute abdomen for patients who attended Muhimbili National Hospital in Tanzania.