Causes of diffuse abdominal pain
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Overview
Overview
Diffuse abdominal pain should be aggressively evaluated for a surgical abdomen since it often denotes a potentially life-threatening etiology.
Causes
Causes
Life Threatening Causes
Life-threatening causes include conditions which result in death or permanent disability within 24 hours if left untreated.
- Adrenal insufficiency
- Appendicitis
- Gastrointestinal perforation
- Ischemic colitis
- Ketoacidosis
- Mesenteric ischemia
- Necrotizing enterocolitis
- Peritonitis
- Ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm
- Volvulus
Causes of diffuse abdominal pain developed by WikiDoc.org
Common Causes
- Gastrointestinal perforation
- Ischemic colitis
- Mesenteric ischemia
- Peritonitis
- Ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm
Causes of diffuse abdominal pain developed by WikiDoc.org
Causes by Organ System
| Cardiovascular | Ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm |
| Chemical/Poisoning | Lead poisoning |
| Dental | No underlying causes |
| Dermatologic | No underlying causes |
| Drug Side Effect | Narcotic withdrawal, laxatives like Sodium sulfate, potassium sulfate and magnesium sulfate |
| Ear Nose Throat | No underlying causes |
| Endocrine | Adrenal insufficiency, ketoacidosis |
| Environmental | No underlying causes |
| Gastroenterologic | Acute pancreatitis, appendicitis, bowel obstruction, eosinophilic gastroenteritis, gastroenteritis, gastrointestinal perforation, ileus, inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, ischemic colitis, large bowel obstruction, mesenteric ischemia, necrotizing enterocolitis, Ogilvie syndrome, pelvic inflammatory disease, peritonitis, small bowel obstruction, volvulus |
| Genetic | Familial Mediterranean fever, hereditary angioedema, porphyria |
| Hematologic | No underlying causes |
| Iatrogenic | No underlying causes |
| Infectious Disease | Malaria, herpes zoster, COVID-19-associated abdominal pain |
| Musculoskeletal/Orthopedic | No underlying causes |
| Neurologic | No underlying causes |
| Nutritional/Metabolic | No underlying causes |
| Obstetric/Gynecologic | Endometriosis |
| Oncologic | No underlying causes |
| Ophthalmologic | No underlying causes |
| Overdose/Toxicity | No underlying causes |
| Psychiatric | No underlying causes |
| Pulmonary | No underlying causes |
| Renal/Electrolyte | Uremia |
| Rheumatology/Immunology/Allergy | Lupus mesenteric vasculitis |
| Sexual | No underlying causes |
| Trauma | No underlying causes |
| Urologic | No underlying causes |
| Miscellaneous | Retroperitoneal fibrosis, spider bite |
Causes of diffuse abdominal pain developed by WikiDoc.org
Causes in Alphabetical Order
Causes of diffuse abdominal pain developed by WikiDoc.org
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