Diagnostic Approach to Abdominal Pain

Ryu, Han Seung; Choi, Suck Chei

Abstract

Abdominal pain is a common chief complaint that brings patients to emergency departments and outpatient offices. The causes of abdominal pain are numerous, ranging from life-threatening to self-limiting disorders. Diagnostic approaches are often difficult because of the nonspecific and overlapping nature of pain, regardless of the underlying cause. A careful medical history taking is the initial diagnostic step. All patients should undergo systematic examinations, regardless of the differential diagnosis suggested by the history. On the basis of the clinical suspicion and laboratory investigations, the physician will consider imaging examinations to help establish the correct diagnosis. Various endoscopic and imaging modalities have important roles in diagnosing many causes of abdominal pain. Diagnostic approaches rely on the likelihood of disease obtaining from histories of patients, physical examinations, laboratory tests, and imaging studies. Furthermore, the evaluation of abdominal pain must be efficient and lead to an accurate diagnosis early in the presentation. It is also important to consider special populations such as women especially during pregnancy and the elderly, because of presentations may differ and are often complicated by coexistent disease.