๐ Is the patient stable or unstable?
Before making a diagnosis, look for red flags:
Hypotension
Tachycardia
Fever/sepsis
Guarding or rigidity
GI bleed
Altered mental status
Severe dehydration
These patients need resuscitation first, diagnosis second.
Then localize the pain anatomically:
๐ RUQ โ hepatobiliary causes
Think cholecystitis, cholangitis, hepatitis
๐ Epigastric pain
Think pancreatitis, peptic ulcer disease, even myocardial infarction
๐ RLQ pain
Think appendicitis first, but never forget ectopic pregnancy or ovarian torsion in females
๐ LLQ pain
Diverticulitis, colitis, renal stones
๐ Diffuse abdominal pain
This is where dangerous diagnoses hide:
Peritonitis
Bowel obstruction
Mesenteric ischemia
DKA
Severe gastroenteritis
History matters more than most investigations:
Sudden vs gradual onset
Colicky vs constant pain
Vomiting, constipation, diarrhea, jaundice, urinary symptoms
Surgical history
Drug history
LMP/pregnancy possibility in females
Examination should never be rushed:
Distension
Guarding
Rigidity
Rebound tenderness
Hernias
Bowel sounds
PR exam when indicated
And one important rule:
Not all abdominal pain is abdominal pathology.
MI, pneumonia, DKA, porphyria, hypercalcemia, and even sepsis can present primarily with abdominal pain.
Basic investigations that save lives:
CBC
Electrolytes
LFTs/RFTs
Urinalysis
Pregnancy test
Lipase/amylase
ECG
Imaging depends on suspicion:
Ultrasound โ biliary/gynecologic pathology
X-ray โ obstruction/perforation
CT abdomen โ unclear acute abdomen
The biggest mistake juniors make is trying to memorize hundreds of causes.
Experienced clinicians do something simpler:
๐ Rule out life threatening causes first
๐ Localize the pain
๐ Think systemically
๐ Reassess repeatedly