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Evaluation of abdominal pain in children

A comprehensive differential diagnosis of abdominal pain in children of all ages can be soporific even for the insomniac. In this section we discuss a short list of critical diagnoses that should be considered. A comprehensive list is so ponderous as to be practically useless for an ED evaluation.

The diagnoses of most concern are those that require operative intervention. The three most common surgical conditions are appendicitis, incarcerated inguinal hernia, and intussusception.

When developing a differential diagnosis, consider the child's age. For example, intussusception is most commonly seen in children between 4 and 10 months of age, but almost never in adolescents.

Although…

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Resources

#EM3

Be able to examine and recognise the cause of acute abdominal pain in all age groups.

Meckel’s diverticulum

Point-of-care ultrasound can be used to detect Meckel’s diverticulum as the underlying etiology of lower abdominal pain in pediatric patients.

Pediatric Surgery Library

Acute abdominal pain in children is one of the more frequent reasons for emergency room visits and pediatric surgical consultations.