Bush Beats Vol-6, No-1, 2020

Abdominal pain is a common complaint and reason for primary consultation.1 Organic causes usually are differentiated in patients with abdominal pain and treatment is administered in accordance with the causes; however, in many cases, patients have functional disorders with no obvious abnormal findings obtained with many routine diagnostic tests.2 In primary care, about half of the patients seen with abdominal complaints have functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGID); the most common FGID being irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) that is characterized by abdominal pain or discomfort and alteration of bowel habits in the absence of an organic disorder. The quality of life of patients with chronic FGID is far worse than in the general population, and is even significantly lower than in patients with many other chronic illnesses.

Biliary colic is the most common clinical presentation of symptomatic gallstone disease, and refers to acute biliary pain which occurs when the gallbladder contracts against any stone obstructing the cystic duct or common bile duct of the biliary tree. Patients with biliary colic usually complain of a sharp, steady or intermittent pain in the upper abdomen, mostly under the right side of the rib cage; it is frequently accompanied with nausea and vomiting.