03.04 Abdominal Pain in Infants, Children and Adolescents Flashcards
Step 1 in approach to diagnosis of acute abdominal pain
Establish emergent vs. non-emergent causes of abdominal pain
Sudden or unremitting pain with no prior Hx
Less than 2 weeks
Acute pain
More than 2 weeks
Persistent or current
Chronic
S/sx associated with the cause of an acute abdominal pain
Intestinal inflammation (diarrhea, fever and fatigue, blood in the stool, LOA) Perforation (severe, abdominal distention, fever, nausea and vomiiting) Hemorrhage (weakness, lightheadedness, shortness of breath) Obstruction (bilious vomiting, electrolyte imbalance, borborygmi and ileus) Peritoneal irritation (fever and chills, LOA, abdominal bloating, nausea and vomiting)
Vomiting that precedes a colicky type of abdominal pain suggests problem of _____
AGE
Vomiting that occurs after the onset of pain is suggestive of _______
Surgical condition
Red flag symptoms for surgical consult
Progressive signs of deterioration (restlessness, confusion, weakness, dizziness, tachycardia, hypotension-late sign) Bile-stained or feculent vomitus Involuntary abdominal guarding Rebound abdominal tenderness Marked abdominal distention Signs of acute fluid or blood loss Significant abdominal trauma No obvious etiology
Acute abdominal pain from a GI cause
Appendicitis Malrotation with volvulus Intussusception Intestinal adhesions Strangulated hernia Mesenteric vasculitis Cholelithiasis/cholecystitis Pancreatitis Henoch-Schonlein purpura
Acute abdominal pain from a non-GI cause
Pyelonephritis Renal calculi Ureteropelvic junction obstruction Ovarian torsion or rupture of ovarian cyst Tubo-ovarian abscess Psoas abscess Ectopic pregnancy
Step 2 of the approach to diagnosis of acute abdominal pain
Determine the possible origin of the pain
Most helpful clues in Hx taking for determining the cause of acute abdominal pain
Age (infancy - abdominal colic, 2-5 years - AGE, mesenteric lymphadenitis, acute appendicitis, school age or teenage - Mittelschmerz phenomenon, peptic disease or recurrent intussusception from Meckel’s diverticulum, polyp
Pain history, location, timing, character, duration, radiation
Observation that the further away the pain is from the umbilicus, the greater the likelihood of an organic disease has held up well
Apley’s criteria
Apley’s criteria
Location
Rate on a scale of 1-5, 1-10 or pointing to a series of faces graded from smile to frown
Intensity
Epigastric pain, LUQ
Back radiation
Constant, sharp, boring
Pancreatitis
Periumbilical - lower abdomen
Back radiation
Alternating cramping and painless periods
Intestinal obstruction
Periumbilical, then localized to RLQ
Back or pelvis radiation
Sharp, steady
Appendicitis
Periumbilical to lower abdomen
No radiation
Cramping with painless periods
Intussusception
Back pain (unilateral) Radiation to groin Sharp, intermittent, cramping
Urolithiasis
Back pain, radiating to bladder
Dull to sharp
UTI
Step 3 in the approach to diagnosis of acute abdominal pain
Clinical evaluation
Fever in AGE
Pain follows vomiting
48-72 hours
Rotavirus
Fever in UTI
Painful urination and tenderness in suprapubic area
Triad for diagnosis pneumonia
Fever
Tachypnea
Cough
Abdominal pain in pneumonia
Referred pain
Fever + throat pain + abdominal pain
Acute tonsillopharyngitis
Post-surgery fever + abdominal pain
Intraabdominal abscess
Fever + vomiting + prominent lymph nodes on CT scan
Mesenteric lymphadenitis
Fever + bloody diarrhea + tenesmus + abdominal pain + vomiting
Shigella dysentery
Bilious vomiting, abdominal distention and hypoactive sounds
Intestinal obstruction
Most common causes of vomiting in infancy
Ingestion of mother’s blood in passing out and vomits this when given milk
Gastritis secondary to drugs
Vomiting similar to family members and friends
Diarrhea
Food poisoning
Oral or pharyngeal burns
History of suicidal ideation
Tablets in vomitus
Toxin ingestion
History of NSAID intake
Epigastric tenderness
Blood in vomitus
Gastritis
Peptic ulcer disease
Bilious vomiting + history of abdominal trauma
Duodenal hematoma
Causes splenomegaly
Bleeding from esophageal varices
Portal hypertension
Colickly RUQ pain + fever + vomiting
Acute cholecystitis
Upper abdominal pain + history of drug intake
Erosive gastritis
Upper abdominal pain + tenesmus + severe vomiting
Pancreatitis
Epigastric tenderness + heartburn + eating meals
Peptic ulcer disease
One of the most common functional abdominal diseases showing periumbilical pain
Hx of constipation and soiling
Stool at rectal vault
Palpable sigmoid
Constipation