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Query: UMLS:C0740577 (acute abdominal pain)
 1,982 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The Research Committee of the World Organization of Gastroenterology has gather information regarding the etiology of acute abdominal pain. Seven diseases cover 96% of the causes of this syndrome in many countries of the world, but some geographical variations have been observed. One example of these variations is amoebic liver abscess, present in 5 to 10% of Mexico City patients. Right upper quadrant pain is often present in amoebic liver abscess and acute cholecystitis. Thus, differential diagnosis of these two entities is difficult. Using discriminant analysis and "stepwise" procedures in 100 cases with cholecystitis and a similar number of patients with amoebic liver abscess, we found six variables (symptoms and signs with a significant chi square to distinguish between these two diseases. The symptoms and signs chosen were hepatomegaly, Murphy's sign, duration of pain greater than or equal to 48 hours, previous history of abdominal pain, dysentery, and facial pallor. These variables proved to be better than laboratory test results. With five of these variables it was possible to obtain an accuracy of 92%. Using six variables, if cases of tie (three variables present and three absent) were excluded, accuracy rose to 96%.
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PMID:Differential diagnosis between amoebic liver abscess and acute cholecystitis. 635 41

Sixty patients were evaluated for acute abdominal pain using technetium-99m PIPIDA hepatobiliary imaging. The sensitivity of the test was 90.6 percent in all patients and the accuracy was 93.3 percent. In the evaluation of acutely ill patients with right upper quadrant pain, fever, nausea and vomiting, hepatobiliary imaging with PIPIDA is the preferred test for diagnosing acute cholecystitis. If the test is positive, disease of the gallbladder and probably acute cholecystitis are present. Early operation can proceed if desirable. If the test is negative and the bilirubin level is less than 5.0 mg/dl, acute cholecystitis is not present. In such cases conservative treatment is appropriate, and follow-up tests should be performed to evaluate the possibility of chronic cholecystitis. When the bilirubin level exceeds 5.0 mg/dl, the test is often indeterminate.
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PMID:Diagnosis of acute cholecystitis using hepatobiliary scan with technetium-99m PIPIDA. 728 23

There are increasing challenges for the practising gastroenterologist in treating AIDS-related gastrointestinal diseases. The differential diagnoses of dysphagia and odynophagia include cytomegalovirus (CMV) and herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection, non-specific aphthous ulceration and non-AIDS oesophageal diseases, especially reflux oesophagitis. Chronic subacute abdominal pain with nausea, vomiting, early satiety and weight loss is suggestive of an obstructive lesion caused by lymphoma or Kaposi's sarcoma. Severe acute abdominal pain can indicate pancreatitis or intestinal perforation due to cytomegalovirus. Right upper quadrant pain (with or without fever, vomiting or abnormal liver function tests with a cholestatic profile) is suggestive of hepatobiliary pathology including cholecystitis, cholangitis, acalculous cholecystitis and AIDS cholangiopathy. Diarrhoea is the most common gastrointestinal symptom of AIDS, affecting 50-90% of patients. Causes of AIDS diarrhoea include protozoa (Cryptosporidium parvum, Isospora belli, Enterocytozoon bieneusi, Septata intestinalis, Cyclospora spp, Entamoeba histolytica and Giardia lamblia), bacteria (Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare, Clostridium difficile, Salmonella, Shigella and Campylobacter jejuni), and viruses (CMV, HSV and possibly HIV). Chronic diarrhoea, malnutrition and weight loss can shorten the life-span of patients with AIDS. Elemental diets, isotonic formulas, medium chain triglycerides and total parenteral nutrition have been tried with little success in AIDS patients with severe diarrhoea and wasting.
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PMID:AIDS and the gut. 805 32

Massive hepatic infarction associated with pregnancy is extremely rare, but is potentially fatal. A 35-year-old primigravida with mild preeclampsia developed acute right upper quadrant pain and marked elevation of liver enzymes at 26 weeks' gestation. After emergent cesarean section, her condition was complicated by oliguric renal failure and pulmonary edema with further deterioration of hepatic function (aspartate transaminase 4339 IU/L; alanine transaminase 3489 IU/L; lactate dehydrogenase 10780 IU/L). The contrast-enhanced computed tomography revealed non-enhancing low attenuation throughout the right lobe of liver, compatible with infarction. Continuous hemodiafiltration was initiated as renal support on postpartum day one. However, excessive fluid accumulation persisted, and she developed severe edema formation in both lung and systemic body surface. To ameliorate microvascular endothelial injury, corticosteroid therapy was begun on postpartum day five. Following treatment initiation, her renal and hepatic function showed steady improvement, accompanied by drastic resolution of edema formation. She was discharged five weeks postpartum with no additional treatment, and is without sequelae six months later. Massive hepatic infarction should be considered in preeclamptic patients who present acute abdominal pain and severe hepatic dysfunction, and continuous hemodiafiltration with corticosteroid therapy may improve the maternal outcome.
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PMID:Massive hepatic infarction in preeclampsia: successful treatment with continuous hemodiafiltration and corticosteroid therapy. 1549 25

Acute abdominal pain can represent a spectrum of conditions from benign and self-limited disease to surgical emergencies. Evaluating abdominal pain requires an approach that relies on the likelihood of disease, patient history, physical examination, laboratory tests, and imaging studies. The location of pain is a useful starting point and will guide further evaluation. For example, right lower quadrant pain strongly suggests appendicitis. Certain elements of the history and physical examination are helpful (e.g., constipation and abdominal distension strongly suggest bowel obstruction), whereas others are of little value (e.g., anorexia has little predictive value for appendicitis). The American College of Radiology has recommended different imaging studies for assessing abdominal pain based on pain location. Ultrasonography is recommended to assess right upper quadrant pain, and computed tomography is recommended for right and left lower quadrant pain. It is also important to consider special populations such as women, who are at risk of genitourinary disease, which may cause abdominal pain; and the elderly, who may present with atypical symptoms of a disease.
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PMID:Evaluation of acute abdominal pain in adults. 1844 63

Ectopic pancreas is defined by the presence of abnormally situated pancreatic tissue that lacks contact with normal pancreas and possesses its own duct system and vascular supply. Ectopic pancreas in the gastrointestinal tract is not uncommon. Moreover, there are several reported cases of adult ectopic pancreatitis in the literature, but to date, only two cases of pediatric ectopic pancreatitis have been reported. We describe a 15-year-old female with acute right upper quadrant pain and elevated serum lipase and amylase, in whom the radiological diagnosis was mesenteric soft tissue mass with adjacent inflammatory changes. The surgical pathology diagnosis, however, was mesenteric ectopic pancreas complicated by pancreatitis. We advocate for ectopic pancreatitis to be considered in a pediatric patient with acute abdominal pain, laboratory findings consistent with pancreatitis, and imaging findings of a mesenteric mass and normal orthotopic pancreas.
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PMID:Ectopic pancreas presenting with pancreatitis and a mesenteric mass. 2333 36

Acute abdominal pain is a common presentation in the outpatient setting and can represent conditions ranging from benign to life-threatening. If the patient history, physical examination, and laboratory testing do not identify an underlying cause of pain and if serious pathology remains a clinical concern, diagnostic imaging is indicated. The American College of Radiology has developed clinical guidelines, the Appropriateness Criteria, based on the location of abdominal pain to help physicians choose the most appropriate imaging study. Ultrasonography is the initial imaging test of choice for patients presenting with right upper quadrant pain. Computed tomography (CT) is recommended for evaluating right or left lower quadrant pain. Conventional radiography has limited diagnostic value in the assessment of most patients with abdominal pain. The widespread use of CT raises concerns about patient exposure to ionizing radiation. Strategies to reduce exposure are currently being studied, such as using ultrasonography as an initial study for suspected appendicitis before obtaining CT and using low-dose CT rather than standard-dose CT. Magnetic resonance imaging is another emerging technique for the evaluation of abdominal pain that avoids ionizing radiation.
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PMID:Diagnostic imaging of acute abdominal pain in adults. 2588 45

Adrenal infarction in pregnancy is an extremely rare event. We report a case of a 29-year-old pregnant woman at the twenty-fourth week of gestation that presented with an acute episode of severe localized right upper quadrant pain. Her preliminary blood investigations and abdominal ultrasonography were essentially unremarkable. A diagnosis of right adrenal infarction was subsequently established on the basis of a non-enhanced swollen right adrenal gland on CT scanning of the abdomen with contrast, consistent with the clinical presentation. She was treated with subcutaneous low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) until 2 weeks postpartum. A thrombophilia screen post-partum revealed a significantly elevated factor VIII level and a hypercoagulable state that justified prolonged anticoagulation. This case highlights the importance of a high index of suspicion for adrenal infarction in pregnancy on the clinical grounds of otherwise unexplained acute abdominal pain accompanied by suggestive radiological findings, especially in the presence of thrombophilia.
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PMID:Unilateral adrenal infarction in pregnancy secondary to elevated factor VIII. 2857 46

Diagnosing acute abdominal pain will always be a challenging task, patients frequently present with atypical symptoms. It is crucial for a clinician to have good differential diagnosis to avoid delay in diagnosis and treatment. We present 37-year-old male who presented to emergency department with 2 days of abdominal pain. The pain started centrally around his umbilicus and localized to his right upper quadrant (RUQ). Clinical examination showed he has localized peritonitism on the RUQ hence he was further investigated with CT abdomen. CT revealed he has appendicitis. This is due to the congenital anomaly where he has congenital agenesis of his right kidney. This case illustrates in patients with congenital agenesis of right kidney, the diagnosis of acute appendicitis should be considered in right upper quadrant pain. He was commenced on IV antibiotics and proceeded to have laparoscopic appendicectomy. He had an uneventful post-operative recovery.
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PMID:A rare presentation of acute appendicitis in right upper quadrant caused by renal agenesis. 2973 38