Abdominal syndrome in medicine is usually called a complex of symptoms, the main criterion for which is abdominal pain. It should be noted immediately that it often does not have a direct connection with any surgical pathology, but is caused either by diseases of organs located in the abdominal cavity, or by problems with the patient’s nervous system, the state of his lungs and heart. The inflammatory process in the peritoneum, caused by exposure to toxic substances, and its stretching by a sick organ can also provoke the named pain.
Next, we will consider in detail the symptoms, types and methods of treating the syndrome.
In what cases does abdominal syndrome develop?
Abdominal pain syndrome has a rather complicated classification. Conventionally, it can be correlated with the diseases against which it manifests itself.
- It can be diseases of the digestive system - hepatitis, cirrhosis, stenosis of the pylorus of the duodenum, etc.
- The named abdominal pains can also accompany pathologies of the chest organs - pneumonia, myocardial infarction, diverticulosis of the esophagus, etc.
- A manifestation of the abdominal syndrome is also observed in infectious or viral diseases - syphilis, herpes zoster, and others.
In a special group of pathological conditions that form the development of the described pathology, it is necessary to include diseases caused by metabolic or immune system disorders - diabetes, rheumatism and porphyria.
How pain manifests itself with various factors
Abdominal pain syndrome is distinguished depending on the type of pain. It is this symptom that often helps specialists make the correct diagnosis and establish the cause of the disease. This is done with the help of a thorough examination of the patient, a biochemical blood test, ultrasound results, as well as radiography of the chest and abdominal organs.
- There are spastic pains that arise and disappear suddenly, bearing the character of a pain attack. They often radiate to the back, under the shoulder blade, lower back or lower extremities and are accompanied by nausea, vomiting, the adoption of a forced position, etc. As a rule, they are provoked by inflammatory processes in the abdominal cavity, poisoning or disruption of the gastrointestinal tract.
- If the syndrome is caused by a stretching of the hollow organs, then the pain becomes aching and pulling.
- And with structural changes or damage to organs, peritoneal pains appear. In medicine, they are considered the most dangerous and are united by the common name "acute abdomen." Such pain appears suddenly, it is spilled, accompanied by general malaise and severe vomiting. When you change position, move or cough, it intensifies.
- Reflected pains occur with pneumonia, heart attack, pleurisy, etc. During such attacks, pain caused by a disease of an organ located outside the abdominal cavity is reflected in the stomach. Symptoms of the disease usually attach to it , against the background of which the described syndrome develops - fever (if it is an infection), pain in the heart or joints (with coronary heart disease or rheumatism), etc.
- And psychogenic pains are not associated with the disease of internal organs. They are neurotic and are most often caused by stress, shock and a depressed state of the patient.
I want to emphasize that any abdominal pain should be the reason for going to the doctor, because the abdominal syndrome, as you have seen, can be a sign of a condition that requires urgent surgery and life-threatening the patient.
Features of the manifestation of chronic abdominal pain
Syndrome of abdominal pain can be manifested by short-lived and rapidly developing attacks, and it can also be protracted chronic.
In the latter case, the pain, as a rule, increases gradually and recurs within several weeks and even months. And it should be said that the chronic form of the syndrome is mainly formed depending on psychological factors, and not on the degree of damaging effects. That is, this pathology to some extent ceases to reflect the degree of the underlying disease and begins to develop according to its own laws.
Researchers believe that chronic abdominal syndrome is often provoked by a state of latent depression. Such patients, as a rule, complain of a combination of different localizations of pain sensations - for example, they may simultaneously have a headache, backache, stomach, etc. Their condition therefore is often characterized as follows: "My whole body hurts."
True, not all chronic abdominal pains are caused by mental disorders - they can also appear against the background of cancer, joint diseases, coronary heart disease. But in this case, the syndrome has a clear limited localization.
Manifestations of abdominal syndrome that require urgent hospitalization
As already mentioned, acute abdominal syndrome in some cases can be a sign of serious impaired functioning of some organs in the abdominal cavity or outside it. Therefore, in order not to expose yourself to possible danger with the appearance of abdominal pain, you should know in which cases it requires urgent medical attention.
- if along with pain there is severe weakness, dizziness and a state of apathy;
- multiple subcutaneous hematomas appear on the body;
- the patient is tormented by repeated vomiting;
- abdominal muscles are tense;
- together with pain, tachycardia occurs and blood pressure decreases;
- the patient is worried about a fever whose origin is unclear;
- the volume of the abdomen increases greatly, accompanied by severe pain;
- gases do not escape, and there are no peristaltic noises;
- women have heavy discharge or bleeding.
Each of these signs (and even more so their combination) requires the obligatory consultation of a specialist, as it may turn out to be a manifestation of a life-threatening condition.
Abdominal pain in children
According to the development of abdominal syndrome, children represent a special risk group. This is due to the ability of the child's body to over-react to any damaging factors.
So, at an early age, the named syndrome can be provoked by excessive gas formation, causing intestinal colic in the baby. And occasionally, invagination (a form of obstruction) of the intestine, requiring immediate hospitalization, or congenital abnormalities of the abdominal organs can also serve as a cause.
Abdominal syndrome in school children is most often a sign of chronic gastroduodenitis or pancreatic dysfunction. Often, the syndrome develops against a background of acute or chronic pathology of the kidneys or bladder. In adolescent girls, it can manifest itself during the formation of the menstrual cycle. By the way, in this case, the appearance of pain may be a sign of ovarian cysts.
Difficulties in diagnosing abdominal syndrome in children
Abdominal syndrome in children causes certain difficulties in the diagnosis of pathology, which caused pain. This is due to the fact that the child is most often not able to accurately characterize his feelings, their localization, strength and the presence of irradiation.
By the way, pediatricians say that babies quite often describe any malaise and discomfort as abdominal pain. Doctors come across this description even in cases where the child is clearly experiencing dizziness, pain in the ears, head, or nausea.
The methods of combating abdominal syndrome in children, as well as in adults, directly depend on the underlying disease that caused its appearance, therefore, experts strongly recommend that parents do not make independent decisions and do not try to stop the pain in the baby’s stomach with antispasmodics or painkillers without the help of a specialist preparations. The fact is that such actions can blur the picture of what is happening with the child, make diagnosis even more difficult and already difficult, and thereby cause serious consequences.
So, if your child has complaints of abdominal pain and other signs of abdominal syndrome, you should immediately consult a doctor. In this case, it is better to play it safe!
The manifestation of the syndrome with SARS
Often, pediatricians observe ARVI with abdominal syndrome. In children, this is also associated with the peculiarity of the body's response to damaging factors.
In such cases, the usual symptoms of a viral infection - redness of the throat, runny nose, cough, weakness and fever - in a small patient, vomiting and abdominal pain may join. But these manifestations can turn out to be both a feature of the reaction of the child's body to infection, and, for example, a sign of a chronic abdominal organs pathology aggravated by ARVI.
Therefore, the diagnosis of ARVI with abdominal syndrome in medical circles is considered inaccurate and streamlined. He does not give a concrete explanation of what is happening in the patient’s body at the moment, and a patient with manifestations of the symptoms of the aforementioned syndrome requires an additional examination to exclude surgical causes of abdominal pain.
How is abdominal syndrome treated?
Due to the fact that the described condition is not a separate disease, but only a complex of symptoms, abdominal syndrome should be fought, eliminating, first of all, the cause of the ailment. The elimination of motor disorders in the digestive tract and the normalization of pain perception in the patient also play a significant role in this.
To eliminate the discomfort that appeared against the background of problems with the gastrointestinal tract, myotropic antispasmodics are usually prescribed. The most popular among them is Drotaverin, which has a high selective effect and does not have a negative effect on the nervous and cardiovascular systems. This tool has not only an antispasmodic effect, but also helps to reduce blood viscosity, which allows it to be used not only for biliary dyskinesia, peptic ulcer of the stomach or duodenum, but also for coronary bowel disease.
No less effective are drugs related to blockers of muscarinic receptors (they create conditions for muscle relaxation and relieving cramps) or to selective and non-selective anticholinergic drugs (Gastrocepin, Platifillin, Metacin, etc.).
What is abdominal ischemic syndrome?
It is customary to distinguish the syndrome of abdominal chronic ischemia from the various abdominal pain described above. It represents a developing for a long time insufficiency of blood supply to various departments of the abdominal aorta as a result of:
- severe cardiovascular disorders;
- arteritis;
- vasculitis;
- abnormalities of the development and compression of blood vessels;
- as well as the appearance of cicatricial stenosis after injuries and operations.
This condition is fraught with the death (necrotization) of areas of blood vessels or organs into which oxygen does not enter sufficiently and decay products are not removed.
Interestingly, abdominal ischemic syndrome is most often found in men after 45 years. And it is manifested, as a rule, by a triad of signs - a pressing-aching, often paroxysmal pain in the abdomen, intestinal dysfunction, as well as a progressive decrease in body weight.
How to deal with abdominal ischemic syndrome
The pain usually appears about half an hour to an hour after eating and can last up to four hours. Sometimes it radiates to the back or to the left side of the chest and is accompanied by flatulence, belching, nausea, vomiting, regardless of the quality of food taken.
It can be provoked not only by food, but also by physical stress or brisk walking, and the pain at rest can be stopped on its own, however, sometimes for this you need to take nitroglycerin or (in case of its increased intensity) analgesics.
With the diagnosis of “abdominal ischemic syndrome”, treatment, as in other cases, is aimed at the underlying disease. The patient is prescribed antispasmodics, drugs that improve the blood circulation process, anticoagulants, and in the case of intestinal dysbiosis, drugs that improve its microflora.
Patients are usually recommended fractional nutrition in small portions with the exception of coarse and gas-forming products. And in severe cases of the disease, they may be shown surgery to restore blood circulation in the abdominal branches of the aorta.
Compartment syndrome
If the patient, as a result of complications caused by injuries or surgery, increases intra-abdominal pressure, then this condition is diagnosed as an abdominal compartment syndrome. It is quite dangerous and is also accompanied by abdominal pain of different strength and localization, which depend on the height of the pain threshold in the patient and on his general condition.
By the way, there are no specific symptoms talking about intra-abdominal hypertension, therefore, for making the above diagnosis, the physical method of examining the abdomen or studying the general clinical picture of the disease is not enough. The most accurate way to determine hypertension in this case, according to experts, is to measure pressure in the bladder, which can serve as a starting point for the appointment of an urgent treatment.
As already mentioned, compartment syndrome is a dangerous condition. Without special treatment, it can lead not only to serious violations of the functions of the abdominal organs, but even to death. As a rule, the most effective way to combat the above-mentioned abdominal syndrome is surgical intervention - the so-called decompression, which reduces the level of intra-abdominal pressure and restores blood circulation in the abdominal region.