Handbook of Legal Medicine — E-Books	Consulting Services — Contact Us	Members Log-in — Subscription Services	Free E-Mail Subscription Join our free monthly newsletter.	Research — Canadian Malpractice	Guest Index of Articles and Newsletters
Search the full text articles and newsletters. Electronic Handbook of Legal Medicine The Web Browse the Keyword Map of Medlit.info - KwMap.net

ABDOMINAL PAIN
Full text articles and references are available by subscription.

Practice Points

Arterial diseases causing abdominal pain in the elderly:
1. Aortic Aneurysm
2. Mesenteric Ischemia
3. Myocardial Infarction

Life-threatening conditions that are commonly missed:
1. Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm
2. Appendicitis
3. Ectopic Pregnancy
4. Diverticulitis
5. Perforated organ
6. Mesenteric Ischemia
7. Bowel Obstruction

Common misdiagnoses
1. Gastroenteritis
2. Gastritis
3. Urinary Tract Infection
4. Pelvic Inflammatory Disease
5. Constipation

In misdiagnosed abdominal pain look for:
1. Differential diagnosis wrongly restricted solely by pain LOCATION
2. In the elderly, overreliance on FEVER to distinguish medical and surgical causes
3. SERIAL evaluations over several hours
4. COMPLETENESS of data collected
5. STOOL check for occult blood
6. PELVIC examination in female patients

Missed tests in misdiagnosed abdominal pain:
1. ECG in elderly or if cardiac risk factors
2. Pregnancy test if childbearing potential
3. Abdominal ultrasound or C-T if age >50
4. Tests for appendicitis in women with diagnoses of PID or urinary infection

 GLOSSARY: Click on the appropriate letter

[A] [B] [C] [D] [E] [F] [G] [H] [I] [J] [K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V] [W] [X] [Y] [Z]

Problems/Comments regarding this website?