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Chronic Abdominal Pain pp 33–43Cite as

Establishing Diagnosis of Chronic Abdominal Pain: Pain Medicine view

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Abstract

Chronic abdominal pain (CAP) is a complex disorder whose optimal treatment requires an interdisciplinary team encompassing medical, interventional/surgical, and psychotherapy approaches. Current understanding of the neurophysiological, neuroanatomical, and behavioral components of CAP is still incomplete. The central focus of a successful treatment in CAP is the initial correct diagnosis of the predominant pain pathway/source. From the Pain Medicine perspective, besides a careful clinical impression and laboratory and radiological studies, it involves employing the utility of neural blocks as a diagnostic as well as a prognostic tool for subsequent neuro ablative or neuromodulatory procedures. The poorly delineated pathophysiology and variable clinical course/heterogeneity of CAP suggests that individualized strategies are required for optimal management. This overview presents a brief review of the nature and pathophysiology of CAP as well as various diagnostic approaches that have been found to be effective in Pain Medicine for treatment of CAP.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Pain Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, 11100 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA

    I. Elias Veizi M.D., Ph.D.

  2. Division of Pain Medicine, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, 11100 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA

    Marisa Wynne D.O. & Salim M. Hayek M.D., Ph.D.

Authors
  1. I. Elias Veizi M.D., Ph.D.
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  2. Marisa Wynne D.O.
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  3. Salim M. Hayek M.D., Ph.D.
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Salim M. Hayek M.D., Ph.D. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Medical Director, Carolinas Pain Institute and Clinical Research Center, Professor of Anesthesiology, Wake Forest University, School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA

    Leonardo Kapural

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Veizi, I.E., Wynne, M., Hayek, S.M. (2015). Establishing Diagnosis of Chronic Abdominal Pain: Pain Medicine view. In: Kapural, L. (eds) Chronic Abdominal Pain. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1992-5_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1992-5_4

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-1991-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-1992-5

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