Raising Awareness of Chronic Abdominal Wall Pain for Optimizing the Diagnosis and Treatment
10.3969/j.issn.1008-7125.2019.11.001
- Author:
Na WANG
1
Author Information
1. Department of Gastroenterology, Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Abdominal Pain;
Abdominal Wall Pain;
Carnett Sign;
Diagnosis;
Diagnosis, Differential;
Therapy
- From:
Chinese Journal of Gastroenterology
2019;24(11):641-644
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Chronic abdominal wall pain is a common, yet often overlooked, cause of chronic abdominal pain in both outpatient and inpatient settings. This disorder most commonly affects middle-aged adults and is more prevalent in women than in men. In chronic abdominal wall pain, the pain occurs due to entrapment of cutaneous branches of the sensory nerves that supply the abdominal wall. Although the diagnosis of chronic abdominal wall pain can be made by patient's history, physical examination, and response to trigger point injection, patients often undergo extensive and exhaustive laboratory, imaging, and procedural work-up before being diagnosed as abdominal wall pain and are often misdiagnosed. Carnett's sign is helpful for differentiating the pain originated from the abdominal wall or from the abdominal viscera. The mainstay of treatment consists of change of life style, over-the-counter analgesic agent, and trigger point injection. In rare cases, chemical neurolysis or surgical neurectomy might be required.
