Abdominal pain, also known as a stomach ache, is a symptom associated with both non-serious and serious medical issues.
Common causes of pain in the abdomen include gastroenteritis and irritable bowel syndrome.[2] About 15% of people have a more serious underlying condition such as appendicitis, leaking or ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm, diverticulitis, or ectopic pregnancy.[2] In a third of cases the exact cause is unclear.[2]
Given that a variety of diseases can cause some form of abdominal pain, a systematic approach to the examination of a person and the formulation of a differential diagnosis remains important.
Differential diagnosis
The most frequent reasons for abdominal pain are gastroenteritis (13%), irritable bowel syndrome (8%), urinary tract problems (5%), inflammation of the stomach (5%) and constipation (5%). In about 30% of cases, the cause is not determined. About 10% of cases have a more serious cause including gallbladder (gallstones or biliary dyskinesia) or pancreas problems (4%), diverticulitis (3%), appendicitis (2%) and cancer (1%).[2] More common in those who are older, mesenteric ischemia and abdominal aortic aneurysms are other serious causes.[3]
Acute abdominal pain
Acute abdomen can be defined as severe, persistent abdominal pain of sudden onset that is likely to require surgical intervention to treat its cause. The pain may frequently be associated with nausea and vomiting, abdominal distention, fever and signs of shock. One of the most common conditions associated with acute abdominal pain is acute appendicitis.
Selected causes
- Traumatic: blunt or perforating trauma to the stomach, bowel, spleen, liver, or kidney
- Inflammatory:
- Infections such as appendicitis, cholecystitis, pancreatitis, pyelonephritis, pelvic inflammatory disease, hepatitis, mesenteric adenitis, or a subdiaphragmatic abscess
- Perforation of a peptic ulcer, a diverticulum, or the caecum
- Complications of inflammatory bowel disease such as Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis
- Mechanical:
- Small bowel obstruction secondary to adhesions caused by previous surgeries, intussusception, hernias, benign or malignant neoplasms
- Large bowel obstruction caused by colorectal cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, volvulus, fecal impaction or hernia
- Vascular: occlusive intestinal ischemia, usually caused by thromboembolism of the superior mesenteric artery
By system
A more extensive list includes the following:
- Gastrointestinal
- GI tract
- Inflammatory: gastroenteritis, appendicitis, gastritis, esophagitis, diverticulitis, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, microscopic colitis
- Obstruction: hernia, intussusception, volvulus, post-surgical adhesions, tumors, severe constipation, hemorrhoids
- Vascular: embolism, thrombosis, hemorrhage, sickle cell disease, abdominal angina, blood vessel compression (such as celiac artery compression syndrome), superior mesenteric artery syndrome, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome
- Digestive: peptic ulcer, lactose intolerance, celiac disease, food allergies
- Glands
- Bile system
- Inflammatory: cholecystitis, cholangitis
- Obstruction: cholelithiasis, tumours
- Liver
- Inflammatory: hepatitis, liver abscess
- Pancreatic
- Inflammatory: pancreatitis
- Bile system
- GI tract
- Renal and urological
- Inflammation: pyelonephritis, bladder infection, indigestion
- Obstruction: kidney stones, urolithiasis, urinary retention, tumours
- Vascular: left renal vein entrapment
- Gynaecological or obstetric
- Inflammatory: pelvic inflammatory disease
- Mechanical: ovarian torsion
- Endocrinological: menstruation, Mittelschmerz
- Tumors: endometriosis, fibroids, ovarian cyst, ovarian cancer
- Pregnancy: ruptured ectopic pregnancy, threatened abortion
- Abdominal wall
- muscle strain or trauma
- muscular infection
- neurogenic pain: herpes zoster, radiculitis in Lyme disease, abdominal cutaneous nerve entrapment syndrome (ACNES), tabes dorsalis
- Referred pain
- from the thorax: pneumonia, pulmonary embolism, ischemic heart disease, pericarditis
- from the spine: radiculitis
- from the genitals: testicular torsion
- Metabolic disturbance
- uremia, diabetic ketoacidosis, porphyria, C1-esterase inhibitor deficiency, adrenal insufficiency, lead poisoning, black widow spider bite, narcotic withdrawal
- Blood vessels
- aortic dissection, abdominal aortic aneurysm
- Immune system
- sarcoidosis
- vasculitis
- familial Mediterranean fever
- Idiopathic
- irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)(affecting up to 20% of the population, IBS is the most common cause of recurrent and intermittent abdominal pain)
By location
The location of abdominal pain can provide information about what may be causing the pain. The abdomen can be divided into four regions called quadrants. Locations and associated conditions include:[4][5]
- Diffuse
- Peritonitis
- Vascular: mesenteric ischemia, ischemic colitis, Henoch-Schonlein purpura, sickle cell disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, polyarteritis nodosa
- Small bowel obstruction
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Metabolic disorders: ketoacidosis, porphyria, familial Mediterranean fever, adrenal crisis
- Epigastric
- Heart: myocardial infarction, pericarditis
- Stomach: gastritis, stomach ulcer, stomach cancer
- Pancreas: pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer
- Intestinal: duodenal ulcer, diverticulitis, appendicitis
- Right upper quadrant
- Liver: hepatomegaly, fatty liver, hepatitis, liver cancer, abscess
- Gallbladder and biliary tract: inflammation, gallstones, worm infection, cholangitis
- Colon: bowel obstruction, functional disorders, gas accumulation, spasm, inflammation, colon cancer
- Other: pneumonia, Fitz-Hugh-Curtis syndrome
- Left upper quadrant
- Splenomegaly
- Colon: bowel obstruction, functional disorders, gas accumulation, spasm, inflammation, colon cancer
- Peri-umbilical (the area around the umbilicus, aka the belly button)
- Appendicitis
- Pancreatitis
- Inferior myocardial infarction
- Peptic ulcer
- Diabetic ketoacidosis
- Vascular: aortic dissection, aortic rupture
- Bowel: mesenteric ischemia, Celiac disease, inflammation, intestinal spasm, functional disorders, small bowel obstruction
- Lower abdominal pain
- Diarrhea
- Colitis
- Crohn's
- Dysentery
- Hernia
- Right lower quadrant
- Colon: intussusception, bowel obstruction, appendicitis (McBurney's point)
- Renal: kidney stone (nephrolithiasis), pyelonephritis
- Pelvic: cystitis, bladder stone, bladder cancer, pelvic inflammatory disease, pelvic pain syndrome
- Gynecologic: endometriosis, intrauterine pregnancy, ectopic pregnancy, ovarian cyst, ovarian torsion, fibroid (leiomyoma), abscess, ovarian cancer, endometrial cancer
- Left lower quadrant
- Bowel: diverticulitis, sigmoid colon volvulus, bowel obstruction, gas accumulation, Toxic megacolon
- Right low back pain
- Liver: hepatomegaly
- Kidney: kidney stone (nephrolithiasis), complicated urinary tract infection
- Left low back pain
- Spleen
- Kidney: kidney stone (nephrolithiasis), complicated urinary tract infection
- Low back pain
- kidney pain (kidney stone, kidney cancer, hydronephrosis)
- Ureteral stone pain
Pathophysiology
Abdominal pain can be referred to as visceral pain or peritoneal pain. The contents of the abdomen can be divided into the foregut, midgut, and hindgut.[6] The foregut contains the pharynx, lower respiratory tract, portions of the esophagus, stomach, portions of the duodenum (proximal), liver, biliary tract (including the gallbladder and bile ducts), and the pancreas.[6] The midgut contains portions of the duodenum (distal), cecum, appendix, ascending colon, and first half of the transverse colon.[6] The hindgut contains the distal half of the transverse colon, descending colon, sigmoid colon, rectum, and superior anal canal.[6]
Each subsection of the gut has an associated visceral afferent nerve that transmits sensory information from the viscera to the spinal cord, traveling with the autonomic sympathetic nerves.[8] The visceral sensory information from the gut traveling to the spinal cord, termed the visceral afferent, is non-specific and overlaps with the somatic afferent nerves, which are very specific.[9] Therefore, visceral afferent information traveling to the spinal cord can present in the distribution of the somatic afferent nerve; this is why appendicitis initially presents with T10 periumbilical pain when it first begins and becomes T12 pain as the abdominal wall peritoneum (which is rich with somatic afferent nerves) is involved.[9]
Diagnostic approach
In order to better understand the underlying cause of abdominal pain, one can perform a thorough history and physical examination.
The process of gathering a history may include:[10]
- Identifying more information about the chief complaint by eliciting a history of present illness; i.e. a narrative of the current symptoms such as the onset, location, duration, character, aggravating or relieving factors, and temporal nature of the pain. Identifying other possible factors may aid in the diagnosis of the underlying cause of abdominal pain, such as recent travel, recent contact with other ill individuals, and for females, a thorough gynecologic history.
- Learning about the patient's past medical history, focusing on any prior issues or surgical procedures.
- Clarifying the patient's current medication regimen, including prescriptions, over-the-counter medications, and supplements.
- Confirming the patient's drug and food allergies.
- Discussing with the patient any family history of disease processes, focusing on conditions that might resemble the patient's current presentation.
- Discussing with the patient any health-related behaviors (e.g. tobacco use, alcohol consumption, drug use, and sexual activity) that might make certain diagnoses more likely.
- Reviewing the presence of non-abdominal symptoms (e.g., fever, chills, chest pain, shortness of breath, vaginal bleeding) that can further clarify the diagnostic picture.
After gathering a thorough history, one should perform a physical exam in order to identify important physical signs that might clarify the diagnosis, including a cardiovascular exam, lung exam, thorough abdominal exam, and for females, a genitourinary exam.[10]
Additional investigations that can aid diagnosis include:[11]
- Blood tests including complete blood count, basic metabolic panel, electrolytes, liver function tests, amylase, lipase, troponin I, and for females, a serum pregnancy test.
- Urinalysis
- Imaging including chest and abdominal X-rays
- Electrocardiogram
If diagnosis remains unclear after history, examination, and basic investigations as above, then more advanced investigations may reveal a diagnosis. Such tests include:[11]
- Computed tomography of the abdomen/pelvis
- Abdominal or pelvic ultrasound
- Endoscopy and/or colonoscopy
Management
The management of abdominal pain depends on many factors, including the etiology of the pain. In the emergency department, a person presenting with abdominal pain may initially require IV fluids due to decreased intake secondary to abdominal pain and possible emesis or vomiting.[12] Treatment for abdominal pain includes analgesia, such as non-opioid (ketorolac) and opioid medications (morphine, fentanyl).[12] Choice of analgesia is dependent on the cause of the pain, as ketorolac can worsen some intra-abdominal processes.[12] Patients presenting to the emergency department with abdominal pain may receive a "GI cocktail" that includes an antacid (examples include omeprazole, ranitidine, magnesium hydroxide, and calcium chloride) and lidocaine.[12] After addressing pain, there may be a role for antimicrobial treatment in some cases of abdominal pain.[12] Butylscopolamine (Buscopan) is used to treat cramping abdominal pain with some success.[13] Surgical management for causes of abdominal pain includes but is not limited to cholecystectomy, appendectomy, and exploratory laparotomy.
Emergencies
Below is a brief overview of abdominal pain emergencies.
Epidemiology
Abdominal pain is the reason about 3% of adults see their family physician.[2] Rates of emergency department (ED) visits in the United States for abdominal pain increased 18% from 2006 through to 2011. This was the largest increase out of 20 common conditions seen in the ED. The rate of ED use for nausea and vomiting also increased 18%.
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