14 hours ago · Many medical conditions cause acute abdominal pain, including diabetic ketoacidosis, hypercalcemia, Addison’s disease, and sickle cell crisis. Other less common metabolic causes of acute abdominal pain include uremia, lead poisoning, methanol intoxication, hereditary angioedema, and porphyria. >> Go To The Portal
Evaluation of the emergency department patient with acute abdominal pain is sometimes difficult. Various factors can obscure the presentation, delaying or preventing the correct diagnosis, with subsequent adverse patient outcomes.
The diagnostic value of a rectal examination in the evaluation of acute abdominal pain is limited; however, it may be of use in detecting intestinal ischemia, late intussusception, or colon cancer.
Many medical conditions cause acute abdominal pain, including diabetic ketoacidosis, hypercalcemia, Addison’s disease, and sickle cell crisis. Other less common metabolic causes of acute abdominal pain include uremia, lead poisoning, methanol intoxication, hereditary angioedema, and porphyria.
A patient with abdominal trauma has a urinalysis that indicates there is blood in the urine. For what condition does the nurse monitor this patient? Kidney damage A 68-year-old patient has been admitted with an abdominal mass and suspected bowel obstruction.
The majority of abdominal injury patients sustained blunt trauma (95%) and only 5% had penetrating injuries [Table 1]. MVCs were the most frequent mechanism of injury (61%) followed by fall from height (25%) and fall of heavy object (7%). The penetrating abdominal trauma was mainly due to stab (4.5%) wounds.
Muscle guarding, back and flank pain, nausea, vomiting, and even shock are possible with significant trauma to the kidneys. With enough force transferred to the abdominal area, intestinal damage and even bowel perforation can occur.
Recognizing abdominal injuriesAbdominal pain.Tenderness over the injured area.Rigid abdomen.Left arm and shoulder pain (spleen)Right-sided abdominal pain and right shoulder pain (liver)Blood in the urine (kidney)Cold, sweaty skin (early signs of shock)More items...
Sometimes, a penetrating injury involves both the chest and the upper part of the abdomen. For example a downward stab wound to the lower chest may go through the diaphragm into the stomach, spleen, or liver. Blunt or penetrating injuries may cut or rupture abdominal organs and/or blood vessels.
Less serious causes of abdominal pain include constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, food allergies, lactose intolerance, food poisoning, and a stomach virus. Other, more serious, causes include appendicitis, an abdominal aortic aneurysm, a bowel blockage, cancer, and gastroesophageal reflux.
Intra-abdominal bleeding may occur after blunt abdominal trauma, and the liver and spleen are the most likely sources. Intra-abdominal hemorrhage often subsides spontaneously and may go unnoticed if only a small volume of blood is lost.
The abdomen (commonly called the belly) is the body space between the thorax (chest) and pelvis. The diaphragm forms the upper surface of the abdomen. At the level of the pelvic bones, the abdomen ends and the pelvis begins.
You may need blood tests and an ultrasound of your abdomen. Based on the results of the blood tests and ultrasound, you may need other tests. An example is a CT scan. The CT scan will show if you have damage to your organs or bleeding in your abdomen.
Abdominal trauma is an injury to the abdomen. Signs and symptoms include abdominal pain, tenderness, rigidity, and bruising of the external abdomen. Complications may include blood loss and infection. Diagnosis may involve ultrasonography, computed tomography, and peritoneal lavage, and treatment may involve surgery.
A traumatic injury or surgical incision which may be superficial or extend to intraperitoneal or extraperitoneal organs or tissues.
Blunt abdominal injuries, such as from a fall or a blow to the stomach, can cause severe bruising of the abdominal wall and bleeding from or rupture of the internal organs. These types of injuries are often caused by falls from a significant height.
The following are key recommendations: Wear lap belts in conjunction with shoulder restraints. Adjust lap belts so that they fit snugly, and place them across the lower abdomen and below the iliac crests. Wear restraints even in vehicles equipped with supplemental vehicle restraints (eg, airbags).
Hindgut structures such as the bladder, and distal two-thirds of the colon, as well as pelvic genitourinary organs usually cause pain in the suprapubic region. Pain is usually reported in the back for retroperitoneal structures such as the aorta and kidneys.5,6. Character .
Location . Embryology determines where a patient will “feel” visceral pain, which is generally perceived in the midline because afferent impulses from visceral organs are poorly localized. Visceral nociceptors can be stimulated by distention, stretch, vigorous contraction, and ischemia.
Although labeled “colic,” gallbladder pain is generally not paroxysmal, and it almost never lasts less than 1 hour, with an average of 5–16 hours’ duration, and ranging up to 24 hours.13Small bowel obstruction typically progresses from an intermittent (“colicky”) pain to more constant pain when distention occurs.
Clinicians must consider multiple diagnoses, especially those life-threatening conditions that require timely intervention to limit morbidity and mortality.
Somatic pain is transmitted via the spinal nerves from the parietal peritoneum or mesodermal structures of the abdominal wall. Noxious stimuli to the parietal peritoneum may be inflammatory or chemical in nature (eg, blood, infected peritoneal fluid, and gastric contents).5,7. Onset .
The emergency physician should not hesitate to administer adequate analgesic medication to the patient with acute abdominal pain. When studied, the administration of narcotic analgesics does not obscure the diagnosis or interfere with the treatment of the patient.
Conversely, any inflammatory process contiguous to the genitourinary tract (including appendicitis, cholecystitis, pancreatitis, or any inflammatory process involving bowel) may result in both pyuria and dysuria. This can lead to misdiagnosis of both gastrointestinal and genitourinary conditions.
red blood in vomit or vomit that looks like coffee grounds. If you have mild bleeding in your stomach, you may have a small amount of blood in your stool and not notice it. This is called occult bleeding.
feeling too full after a meal. loss of appetite. weight loss. If gastritis or gastropathy leads to erosions or ulcers, the stomach lining may bleed. If you have symptoms of bleeding in your stomach, seek medical help right away. Symptoms of bleeding in your stomach may include.
In autoimmune gastritis, the immune system attacks healthy cells in the stomach lining. Acute erosive gastropathy. Serious health problems—such as severe injuries or burns, critical illness, or sepsis. —can reduce the blood flow to the stomach lining, causing a form of acute erosive gastropathy called stress gastritis.
Surgery that removes part of the stomach, such as some types of bariatric surgery, is the most common cause of bile reflux. Long-term use of NSAIDs may cause reactive gastropathy. Autoimmune gastritis. In autoimmune gastritis, the immune system attacks healthy cells in the stomach lining. Acute erosive gastropathy.
Reactive gastropathy. Reactive gastropathy is caused by long-term contact with substances that irritate the stomach lining, most often nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), alcohol, and bile reflux, which is backward flow of bile from the small intestine to the stomach. Surgery that removes part of the stomach, ...
Symptoms may include. pain or discomfort in the upper abdomen. nausea or vomiting. feeling full too soon during a meal. feeling too full after a meal. loss of appetite. weight loss.
Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) gastritis. Infection with H. pyl ori bacteria causes H. pylori gastritis. Researchers are still studying how people become infected. H. pylori bacteria may spread from person to person through contact with an infected person’s vomit, stool, or saliva. Food or water contaminated with an infected person’s vomit, stool, or saliva may also spread the bacteria from person to person.