Acute Abdominal Pain (AAP) is a frequent complaint in the emergency setting, often benign but occasionally linked to life-threatening conditions requiring urgent intervention. Etiologies are diverse, including infections, inflammation, vascular occlusion, bowel obstruction, or rupture of a viscous. Patients commonly present with sudden pain, sometimes accompanied by fever, nausea, vomiting, or distension.
Incidence varies by age and sex. In children, the most frequent nonsurgical diagnoses include respiratory infections (23.7%), pain of uncertain etiology (15.4%), gastroenteritis (15.4%), constipation (9.4%), and urinary tract infection (8%). Surgical causes occur in up to 20% of cases; in infants, incarcerated inguinal hernia (45.1%) and intussusception (41.9%) predominate.