• Aggelos Tsalkidis, Stefanos Gardikis, Dimitrios Cassimos, Katerina Kambouri, Evanthia Tsalkidou, Savas Deftereos, and Athanasios Chatzimichael.
• Department of Pediatrics, University Hospital of Alexandroupolis, Democritus University of Thrace-Medical School, Alexandroupolis, Greece. atsalkid@med.duth.gr
• Pediatr Int. 2008 Jun 1;50(3):315-8.

BackgroundAcute abdominal pain in children is a common cause for referral to the emergency room and for subsequent hospitalization to pediatric medical or surgical departments. There are rare occasions when the abdominal pain is derived from extra-abdominal organs or systems. The aim of the present study was to establish the most common extra-abdominal causes of acute abdominal pain.MethodsThe notes of all children (1 month-14 years of age) examined for acute abdominal pain in the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department of Alexandroupolis District University Hospital in January 2001-December 2005 were analyzed retrospectively. Demographic data, clinical signs and symptoms, and laboratory findings were recorded, as well as the final diagnosis and outcome.ResultsOf a total number of 28 124 children who were brought to the A&E department, in 1731 the main complaint was acute abdominal pain. In 51 children their symptoms had an extra-abdominal cause, the most frequent being pneumonia (n = 15), tonsillitis (n = 10), otitis media (n = 9), and acute leukemia (n = 5).ConclusionBoth abdominal and extra-abdominal causes should be considered by a pediatrician who is confronted with a child with acute abdominal pain.

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