Abdominal pain: Dr David Mai (34min) March 2017

 

Key points:

1. become familiar with what is typical and classic for common abdominal pathologies
2. understand that atypical presentations of common pathologies is also common, and that a cognitive / mental system of not ignoring traps / red flags is essential for safe disposition of these patients
3. not all presentations of abdominal pain will have a clear diagnosis but this is not necessary for safe management of patients
4. remember that the easy labels of constipation, gastritis, gastroenteritis and pyelonephritis are red flags in of themselves and can create diagnostic momentum
5. pain out of proportion to abdominal findings is concerning and often suggests vascular pathology
6. practice filtering the noise

Review also Dr Ben Delaney’s presentation (March 2016) on this topic below:

Ben-Delaney-Abdo-Pain-Assessment