A Study of Abdomenal Pain in Children
Pain abdomen is a common pediatric complaint that brings patient to the hospital in Nepal.Knowledge about its etiology and frequency helps in its evaluation and management. The presentstudy was undertaken to find out the causes and their frequency of pain abdomen in Nepalichildren. Children with pain abdomen presenting at the emergency room and pediatric outpatientdepartment of Kathmandu Medical College, Kathmandu from January, 2006 to December 2007 wereclinically evaluated and investigated to find out the causes and frequency of their pain abdomen. Theoutcomes were tabulated and analyzed for interpretation. Of 444 patients attended, 356 completedinvestigations and came for follow up. Cause of pain abdomen was apparent in 117 (32.9%) only.91.5% were medical causes, comprising predominantly of diarrheal diseases (28.3%), infantile colic(9.4%), urinary tract infection (7.7%) and acid peptic disease (6.8%). 8.5% causes were related tosurgical conditions, which needed operative management. Secondary or extra-abdominal causeswere found in 20 cases (17.1%). Pneumonia (2), functional (5), vulvovaginitis (2) and infantile colic(11) were predominant causes. Our study showed that the causes of pain abdomen in children werepredominantly medical. Gastroenteritis was the most frequent cause. Secondary causes, includingfunctional and emotional causes were infrequent. Small percentage needing surgical managementformed a diagnostic challenge.Key words: abdomen, children, gastroenteritis, pain