Is abdominal wall tenderness a useful sign in the diagnosis of non-specific abdominal pain? Ann R Coll Surg Engl 1988 Jul;70(4):233-4
Date
07/01/1988Pubmed ID
2970820Pubmed Central ID
PMC2498809Scopus ID
2-s2.0-0023722690 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 60 CitationsAbstract
Pain arising from the abdominal wall has been implicated as a cause of non-specific abdominal pain (NSAP), and the presence of abdominal wall tenderness (AWT) has been proposed as an accurate diagnostic test for NSAP. One hundred and fifty eight patients admitted to hospital with abdominal pain were tested for the presence of positive AWT. In 53 patients the final diagnosis was appendicitis and positive AWT was found in five. Thirty eight patients were found to have a variety of other recognised pathological diagnoses, none of whom had a positive AWT. In 67 patients a diagnosis of NSAP was made in the absence of other pathological diagnosis, 19 of whom had positive AWT, which was significantly different from the other diagnostic groups. This study confirms the presence of AWT in up to 28% of patients with NSAP, and suggests that testing for AWT is of value in patients with abdominal pain, although a positive AWT is not as accurate a predictor of NSAP as previously reported.
Author List
Gray DW, Dixon JM, Seabrook G, Collin JAuthor
Gary Seabrook MD Emeritus Professor in the Surgery department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AbdomenAbdominal Muscles
Acute Disease
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Appendicitis
Child
Diagnosis, Differential
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Pain
Palpation
