Decision making process about the diagnostic workup for patients with abdominal pain
Abstract：Abdominal pain is an alarming signal indicating that either tissue or organ in the abdominal cavity is in trouble. The etiology of abdominal pain is often obscure. The underlying diseases are multidisciplinary, and the disease process varies with time. Often, an acute abdominal pain (including acute abdomen) requires urgent diagnosis and treatment. Chronic abdominal pain involves many difficult cases. Having fifty years of clinical experiences, the author concludes that a scientific decision making process is essential in the diagnosis of all types of abdominal pain. It involves the following:(1) Data collection through history taking,physical examamination, and laboratory diagnosis. (2) Analysis and synthesis of data are important to gain insight into the disease process for the establishment of a logical diagnosis. (3) Close observation is required for acute abdominal pain of unknown origin. Even after a diagnosis is made, the patient should still be followed up to check if the diagnosis and treatment are correct.
Keywords：abdominal painacute abdomendecision making process about diagnosis
Publication Date：2009-01-01
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：3( 1073-1075 )