TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Chapter 7. Chronic Abdominal Pain A1 - Friedlander, Joel A1 - Matthews, Randolph P. A2 - Shah, Samir S. PY - 2009 T2 - Pediatric Practice: Infectious Disease AB - Chronic abdominal pain in children is defined as any type of pain localized to the abdomen of at least 2 months duration that inhibits normal activity. It is one of the most common presenting complaints to pediatricians. Up to 17% of high school students experience weekly abdominal pain, and chronic abdominal pain accounts for approximately 4% of pediatric office visits.1 The vast majority of these children have functional abdominal pain that, while debilitating, cannot be explained by a clear pathophysiologic mechanism. A minority of patients complaining of chronic abdominal pain has a chronic illness, typically of an infectious, inflammatory, anatomic, or biochemical etiology. These conditions, which will be the focus of this chapter, are often treatable and occasionally curable. SN - PB - The McGraw-Hill Companies CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/03/29 UR - accesspediatrics.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=6901812 ER -