Abdominal pain is not new to anyone, and almost everyone has experienced abdominal pain. Therefore, abdominal pain is naturally the most common reason for emergency department visits and one of the most complex clinical symptoms, with hundreds of diseases that can present with abdominal pain. Abdominal pain can be a disease of the digestive system itself or a fatal cardiogenic disease.
Sometimes it passes with patience, sometimes it is delayed, so what kind of abdominal pain should I seek medical attention for?
The following situations usually mean that abdominal pain is more serious and should not be taken lightly and should be seen by a hospital in a timely manner.
1. abdominal pain with fever.
2, abdominal pain with jaundice.
3, abdominal pain with chest pain.
4, abdominal pain with abdominal bulging or muscle tension.
5, abdominal pain with black stool or bloody stool.
6, abdominal pain with persistent vomiting.
7, abdominal pain with pallor, dizziness, cold hands and feet, weakness or fuzzy consciousness
8, persistent aggravated or unrelieved abdominal pain, acute and sudden, unbearable (rolling around in pain).
9, abdominal pain that appears immediately after trauma such as falls and bruises, including abdominal pain that appears some time after the injury.
Precautions.
When seeking medical attention, one should describe in detail to the doctor the site of abdominal pain, the manner of abdominal pain attack, the duration of the attack and symptoms other than abdominal pain, and try to recall the event or cause that triggered or relieved the pain, which will help the doctor to quickly and generally determine the cause of abdominal pain and the priority of the disease. In addition, the differential diagnosis of acute abdominal pain is not easy, and it is important not to drink or eat for a while before going to the hospital emergency room, in case of gastrointestinal perforation, which can aggravate the condition. If emergency surgery is needed, eating will make anesthesia more difficult.
What tests are usually done?
The most appropriate tests for acute abdomen are those that are quick and simple to determine the condition. The doctor usually adds some necessary and quick tests as needed after taking the medical history and physical examination.
1, blood, urine, fecal routine examination: blood leukocyte total and neutrophil increase suggest inflammatory lesions, almost every abdominal pain patients need to check the items. The presence of a large number of red blood cells in the urine indicates urinary stones, tumors or trauma. Proteinuria and leukocytes indicate urinary tract infections. Pus and blood stools suggest intestinal infection, and blood stools suggest stricture intestinal obstruction, mesenteric thromboembolism, hemorrhagic enteritis, etc.
2, blood biochemical tests: increased serum amylase suggests pancreatitis, which is the most commonly used blood biochemical test in the differential diagnosis of abdominal pain. The determination of blood glucose and blood ketones can be used to line up the abdominal pain caused by diabetic ketosis. Increased serum bilirubin suggests biliary tract disease. The examination of liver and kidney function and electrolytes is also helpful in determining the condition.
3, routine and biochemical examination of the abdominal puncture fluid: abdominal pain diagnosis is not clear, and when the abdominal fluid is found, abdominal puncture examination must be done. The fluid obtained from puncture should be sent for routine and biochemical examination, and if necessary, bacterial culture. However, usually obtain the puncture fluid after visual observation has helped the diagnosis of intra-abdominal bleeding and infection.
4.X-ray examination: abdominal X-ray plain examination is most widely used in the diagnosis of abdominal pain. The diaphragm found free gas, gastrointestinal perforation several can be determined. Intestinal obstruction can be diagnosed if the intestinal cavity is dilated with gas accumulation and most of the fluid is flat in the intestine. Calcified shadow in the ureteral area can suggest ureteral calculi. The blurring or disappearance of the lumbar muscle shadow suggests inflammation or bleeding of the posterior peritoneum. barium x-ray meal imaging, or barium enema examination can detect gastroduodenal ulcer, tumor, etc.
5.Real-time ultrasound and CT examination: they play an important role in the differential diagnosis of liver, biliary and pancreatic diseases, and if necessary, liver abscess and liver cancer can be diagnosed by liver puncture according to the positioning of ultrasound examination.
6.Endoscopy: It can be used for the differential diagnosis of gastrointestinal diseases and is often needed in patients with chronic abdominal pain.
7.Ultrasound examination: mainly used to check biliary and urinary stones, bile duct dilatation, pancreatic and hepatosplenomegaly, etc.. It also has good diagnostic value for small amount of fluid in abdominal cavity, intra-abdominal cysts and inflammatory masses.
8, electrocardiogram examination: for older people, electrocardiogram examination should be performed to understand the blood supply to the heart muscle and exclude myocardial infarction and angina pectoris.
Pain characteristics of common abdominal diseases.
1. abdominal pain starts as diffuse dull pain around the umbilicus, which increases and shifts and fixes to the right lower abdomen after a dozen hours, at which point it may be appendicitis.
2. pain on the right side of the waist below the ribs or epigastric pain, which is obvious after eating greasy food, may be gallstones or cholecystitis.
3, abdominal pain paroxysmal or continuously aggravated and accompanied by vomiting, at this time may be intestinal obstruction.
4. sudden onset of epigastric colic that cannot be relieved after drinking, accompanied by vomiting, abdominal distension, fever, etc. may be pancreatitis, which requires medical attention as soon as possible.
5, abdominal pain accompanied by black stool, with blood in the stool, is gastrointestinal bleeding, need to seek medical attention as soon as possible
6. sudden lower abdominal pain in women of childbearing age with a history of menopause, accompanied by irregular vaginal bleeding, syncope or shock, may be ectopic pregnancy rupture
7. lumbar abdominal cramps with hematuria may be ureteral calculi, requiring medical attention.
8. abdominal pain below the waist (belly button) and burning pain and increased frequency when urinating may be cystitis.