RT Book, Section A1 Egan, Craig A1 Aiken, John J. A1 Rudolph, Colin D. A2 Rudolph, Colin D. A2 Rudolph, Abraham M. A2 Lister, George E. A2 First, Lewis R. A2 Gershon, Anne A. SR Print(0) ID 7035657 T1 Chapter 383. Acute Abdominal Pain T2 Rudolph's Pediatrics, 22e YR 2011 FD 2011 PB The McGraw-Hill Companies PP New York, NY SN 978-0-07-149723-7 LK accesspediatrics.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=7035657 RD 2024/11/02 AB Abdominal pain is among the most common complaints in children, accounting for approximately 10% of all children evaluated in emergency units. Abdominal pain can be acute and sudden in onset or chronic with continual or intermittent symptoms. Most episodes of pain are benign and resolve with minimal or no intervention.1 One recent study showed that only 23% of all children evaluated in an emergency department required surgical intervention, most often for appendicitis.1 Differentiating abdominal pain that requires prompt surgical intervention from pain due to nonsurgical conditions is often challenging, especially in the infant and toddler. The evaluation and management of abdominal pain varies depending on the severity and character of the pain, associated symptoms, and age and sex of the child. The difficulties in diagnosis can be reduced by considering the most likely diagnosis based on the child’s age, the presence of associated symptoms, and the physical examination.