Abdominal pain is a frequent complaint in emergency units, comprising 5% to 10% of all presentations. Evaluating patients with acute abdominal pain can be challenging due to factors that may obscure clinical findings, leading to potential misdiagnoses and adverse outcomes. Self-referrals and primary care physician referrals for abdominal pain are rising, adding to the burden on emergency surgical care providers.
Initial symptoms of benign and life-threatening conditions can overlap, and pain may originate from non-abdominal sources, with atypical signs varying by age, sex, and comorbidities. Requesting appropriate diagnostic tests is challenging, as unnecessary tests can delay diagnosis and increase costs. Management should start with thorough history-taking and physical examination, followed by selecting suitable diagnostic tests and imaging to establish a diagnosis.
Primary care practitioners must consider various potential diagnoses, prioritizing life-threatening conditions that require careful management to prevent morbidity and mortality. Accurate assessment skills for abdominal pain are crucial for primary care doctors to avoid delays in treating acutely ill patients.