Acute or chronic abdominal pain can have various causes, ranging in severity from 'minor' to 'critical'. Finding the true cause means ruling out or confirming each possibility – in other words, diagnosis.
Diagnosis is usually a complex process due to the sheer number of possible causes and related symptoms. In order to diagnose acute or chronic abdominal pain, we could:
Cause | Probability | Status |
---|---|---|
Crohn's Disease | 95% | Confirm |
Pericarditis | 28% | Unlikely |
Pelvic Inflammatory Disease | 27% | Unlikely |
Porphyria | 2% | Ruled out |
Testicular Torsion | 2% | Ruled out |
Overconsumption | 0% | Ruled out |
Hepatitis | 0% | Ruled out |
Gastroenteritis | 0% | Ruled out |
If you are experiencing episodes of abdominal discomfort or pain, how long ago did they start occurring?
Possible responses:
→ No abdominal pain / only after meals / don't know→ Less than 24 hours → 1-6 days → 1-4 weeks → 1 month or more |
Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm is asymptomatic in 75% of cases, but may present as sudden severe pain that is not relieved by position change.
The pain caused by a Myocardial Infarction may extend downward into the abdominal area.
Abdominal pain is one of the most common symptoms of a sickle cell crisis – a painful episode that often occurs a few times each year in people who have sickle cell anemia. The sickle-shaped red blood cells block blood vessels, restricting blood and oxygen supply to various tissues, causing pain.