Differential Diagnosis for Abdominal Pain in a Child
Single Most Likely Diagnosis
- Constipation: This is a common cause of abdominal pain in children, often due to a low-fiber diet, dehydration, or poor bowel habits. It's usually characterized by infrequent bowel movements, hard stools, and sometimes blood in the stool.
Other Likely Diagnoses
- Viral Gastroenteritis: Also known as the stomach flu, this condition is highly contagious and causes inflammation of the stomach and intestines, leading to abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, and fever.
- Urinary Tract Infection (UTI): UTIs can cause abdominal pain, especially in the lower abdomen, along with symptoms like dysuria, frequent urination, and fever.
- Functional Abdominal Pain: This is a common condition in children where abdominal pain is not explained by other medical conditions. It can be related to stress, anxiety, or changes in bowel habits.
Do Not Miss Diagnoses
- Appendicitis: Although less common, appendicitis is a medical emergency that requires prompt surgical intervention. Symptoms include severe abdominal pain that starts near the navel and then moves to the lower right abdomen, fever, and vomiting.
- Intussusception: A condition where a part of the intestine slides into an adjacent part, causing bowel obstruction. It's characterized by severe abdominal pain, vomiting, and bloody stools.
- Pyloric Stenosis: A condition where the pylorus (the passage between the stomach and small intestine) thickens, causing projectile vomiting and abdominal pain in infants.
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD): Conditions like Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis can cause chronic abdominal pain, diarrhea, weight loss, and fatigue.
Rare Diagnoses
- Meckel's Diverticulum: A congenital anomaly of the small intestine that can cause abdominal pain, gastrointestinal bleeding, and intestinal obstruction.
- Hirschsprung's Disease: A congenital condition characterized by the absence of nerve cells in the colon, leading to severe constipation, abdominal pain, and intestinal obstruction.
- Abdominal Migraine: A condition that causes recurrent episodes of abdominal pain, often accompanied by headache, nausea, and vomiting, similar to migraine headaches.