Causes of epigastric abdominal pain
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Hilda Mahmoudi M.D., M.P.H.[2]
Overview
Overview
Epigastric pain is pain localized in the upper central region of the abdomen. Sudden onset of epigastric pain is suggestive of pancreatitis, especially when it radiates to the back and is associated with anorexia, nausea and vomiting. Subacute or chronic epigastric pain is challenging to assess. In many situations, physicians are unable to accurately diagnose such pain solely based on history and physical examination.[1][2][3] A common cause of epigastric pain is dyspepsia which may be associated with abdominal fullness, bloating or nausea.
Causes
Causes
Life Threatening Causes
Life-threatening causes include conditions which result in death or permanent disability within 24 hours if left untreated.
- Acute pancreatitis
- Esophageal perforation
- Myocardial ischemia
- Perforated duodenal ulcer
- Pulmonary embolism
- Ruptured aortic aneurysm
- Ruptured spleen
Causes of epigastric abdominal pain developed by WikiDoc.org
Common Causes
- Acute pancreatitis
- Cholecystitis
- Dyspepsia
- Gastritis
- Giardiasis
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Pancreatitis
- Peptic ulcer disease
Causes of epigastric abdominal pain developed by WikiDoc.org
Causes by Organ System
| Cardiovascular | Myocardial ischemia, ruptured aortic aneurysm |
| Chemical/Poisoning | No underlying causes |
| Dental | No underlying causes |
| Dermatologic | No underlying causes |
| Drug Side Effect | No underlying causes |
| Ear Nose Throat | No underlying causes |
| Endocrine | Acute pancreatitis, pancreatitis |
| Environmental | No underlying causes |
| Gastroenterologic | Bile duct tumor, cholecystitis, cholecystolithiasis, delayed gastric emptying, dyspepsia, esophageal perforation, gallbladder cancer, gastric tumors, gastritis, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), colon cancer, hepatic tumors, hepatomegaly, irritable bowel syndrome, pancreatic tumors, pancreatitis, peptic ulcer disease, perforated duodenal ulcer, postcholecystectomy syndrome, ruptured spleen, splenic infarction, ulcerative colitis |
| Genetic | No underlying causes |
| Hematologic | No underlying causes |
| Iatrogenic | No underlying causes |
| Infectious Disease |
Chronic infection, giardiasis, intestinal parasite, tuberculosis |
| Musculoskeletal/Orthopedic | No underlying causes |
| Neurologic | No underlying causes |
| Nutritional/Metabolic | No underlying causes |
| Obstetric/Gynecologic | No underlying causes |
| Oncologic | Hepatic tumors, lymphomas, pancreatic tumors, renal cell carcinoma |
| Ophthalmologic | No underlying causes |
| Overdose/Toxicity | No underlying causes |
| Psychiatric | No underlying causes |
| Pulmonary | Basal pneumonia, pleuritis, pulmonary embolism |
| Renal/Electrolyte | pyelonephritis, renal cell carcinoma |
| Rheumatology/Immunology/Allergy | No underlying causes |
| Sexual | No underlying causes |
| Trauma | Ruptured spleen |
| Urologic | No underlying causes |
| Miscellaneous | Referred pain |
Causes by Organ System developed by WikiDoc.org, Copyleft 2013
Causes in Alphabetical Order
Causes of epigastric abdominal pain developed by WikiDoc.org
References
References
- ↑ Heikkinen, M.; Pikkarainen, P.; Eskelinen, M.; Julkunen, R. (2000). “GPs’ ability to diagnose dyspepsia based only on physical examination and patient history”. Scand J Prim Health Care. 18 (2): 99–104. PMID 10944064. Unknown parameter
|month=ignored (help) - ↑ Thomson, AB.; Barkun, AN.; Armstrong, D.; Chiba, N.; White, RJ.; Daniels, S.; Escobedo, S.; Chakraborty, B.; Sinclair, P. (2003). “The prevalence of clinically significant endoscopic findings in primary care patients with uninvestigated dyspepsia: the Canadian Adult Dyspepsia Empiric Treatment – Prompt Endoscopy (CADET-PE) study”. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 17 (12): 1481–91. PMID 12823150. Unknown parameter
|month=ignored (help) - ↑ Bytzer, P.; Hansen, JM.; Havelund, T.; Malchow-Møller, A.; Schaffalitzky de Muckadell, OB. (1996). “Predicting endoscopic diagnosis in the dyspeptic patient: the value of clinical judgement”. Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 8 (4): 359–63. PMID 8781906. Unknown parameter
|month=ignored (help)
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