What tests are needed for chronic abdominal pain?

  Chronic abdominal pain does not indicate the severity of the condition. Some people have frequent stomach pains, but upon examination they may be suffering from gastrointestinal dysfunction, dyspepsia, chronic gastritis, or irritable bowel syndrome, which are often functional disorders that do not present any major problems. Many of these people have severe abdominal pain, but it is just a high gastrointestinal sensitivity, which is usually said to be more delicate, and does not indicate that the condition will be serious. However, there are a few people whose abdominal pain may be some serious lesions in the abdominal cavity that may have serious consequences if left untreated, such as possible gastrointestinal tumors, liver cancer, pancreatic disease, etc. Usually, people think that they can know the seriousness of abdominal pain by consulting a doctor and conducting traditional physical examination such as looking, touching, tapping and listening, but in fact, the traditional physical examination of gastrointestinal diseases, especially gastrointestinal ulcer or early cancer, often cannot detect the disease. The above cases can only be detected with the help of advanced instruments.  What tests are needed for patients with chronic abdominal pain or stomach pain to exclude possible serious diseases, generally including the following tests: Ultrasound of abdomen: it can find out whether there are tumors or other serious lesions in liver, gallbladder, pancreas, spleen, kidney, common bile duct, etc., and also whether there is ascites and abdominal mass. The examination cost is about one hundred yuan.  Gastroscopy: It can find out whether there are ulcers or swellings in the esophagus, stomach, duodenum, etc. The examination cost is about 300 yuan.  Colonoscopy: It can find out whether there are ulcers or mass lesions in the rectum, sigmoid colon, descending colon, transverse colon, ascending colon, end of ileum and other parts. The cost of the examination is about 300+ yuan.  CT (suitable for those who find abdominal lesions by B-ultrasound or suspect abdominal lesions but the effect of B-ultrasound is not good): it can find out whether there is ascites, tumor, or certain anatomical abnormalities such as mesenteric obstruction in the abdominal cavity. The cost of the examination is more than one thousand dollars.  Capsule endoscopy: mainly applicable when fecal occult blood is positive or abdominal pain can be suspicious of small intestine disease, it can examine the whole gastrointestinal tract, especially the several meters long small intestine, and discover lesions in the small intestine. The cost of the examination is about four thousand dollars.