Acute abdominal pain in children

Joon Sung Kim, Joon Sung Kim

Abstract

Acute abdominal pain is a common complaint in childhood, and it can be caused by a wide range of underlying surgical and non-surgical conditions. The most common non-surgical condition is gastroenteritis, while the most common surgical condition is appendicitis. Abdominal pain in children varies with age, associated symptoms, and pain location. Although acute abdominal pain is usually benign and self-limiting, there are uncommon but life-threatening conditions that require urgent care. Meticulous history taking and physical examinations are essential to determine the cause of acute abdominal pain and to identify children with surgical conditions such as appendicitis.

Keywords: Abdominal pain; Acute abdominal; Appendicitis; Child.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Algorithmic approach to the children with acute abdominal pain requiring urgent management. RLQ: right lower quadrant, RUQ: right upper quadrant, US: ultrasonography, CT: computed tomography, CBC: complete blood count, UA: urinalysis, AST: aspartate aminotransferase, ALT: alanine aminotransferase, GGT: γ-glutamyltransferase.

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