Owosso ER's top complaint July–September was abdominal pain

More people came to the emergency department at Memorial Healthcare in Owosso with abdominal pain than with anything else from July through September, the hospital said in a piece published Monday by Dr. Renee Patsy, a board-certified emergency medicine physician and the health system's medical director of emergency medicine.

"Abdominal pain is one of the most common reasons people seek care in the emergency department," Patsy wrote. "In fact, from July through September, it was the most common reason patients came to the ED at Memorial Healthcare."

Why the summer quarter ran the way it did isn't settled. Patsy wrote that during the recent late-summer months in Michigan, "reported food contamination and a parasitic outbreak may have contributed to an increase in gastrointestinal illnesses." The piece does not say whether any of those cases were in Shiawassee County, and it gives no visit counts.

The practical part for readers is the list of symptoms Memorial says should not be managed at home. Patsy wrote that people should seek emergency care for severe or rapidly worsening abdominal pain, especially pain that gets worse when you move or when gentle pressure is applied to the abdomen. The other warning signs listed: a firm or very tender abdomen, high or persistent fever, chills, repeated or uncontrollable vomiting, being unable to keep fluids down, signs of dehydration, vomiting blood, dark tarry stools and bright red blood in the stool. "Gastrointestinal bleeding should never be ignored," she wrote.

Memorial also names groups it says should treat new or unexplained belly pain more seriously: adults 65 and older, who the piece says may have atypical symptoms even when something serious is going on; pregnant patients; people who are immunocompromised; and people with diabetes, whose symptoms can be milder than the condition behind them.

Not every stomachache is an ER trip, the piece says. Mild, dull or cramping pain that improves with rest, fluids or over-the-counter medicine can often be watched at home, as can familiar discomfort from a known, less serious cause such as gas, mild indigestion or menstrual cramps. Patsy wrote that regular urination is generally a reassuring sign of adequate fluid intake, "although it does not rule out a serious medical condition," and that pain which worsens warrants a call to a primary care provider or an evaluation.

The guidance follows a similar piece from Memorial on Oct. 7, reported by The Current, that listed what the health system's walk-in clinics on East Main in Owosso and East Lansing Road in Durand will not treat — chest pain of any kind, major trauma, auto accident injuries and mental health issues among them. Taken together, the two documents are the hospital telling the county which door to walk through.

What happens next: the emergency department at 826 W. King St. in Owosso continues to see patients around the clock. Memorial lists (989) 720-CARE, or (989) 720-2273, for people who want to talk to someone first. The hospital has not said whether it will release quarterly visit numbers, or whether the Michigan foodborne and parasitic illnesses it cites reached Shiawassee County.