“Chronic” Abdominal Pain in the Acute Setting: Functional Bowel Diseases, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Cancer-related Pain

Abstract

Chronic abdominal pain is a very common condition all over the world. Although not expected to present emergently, acute exacerbations of chronic pain or the slightest change that worsens the patient's condition (e.g, acute-onset diarrhea, vomiting, or loss of appetite) will trigger admissions to ED. Functional bowel diseases include irritable bowel syndrome (IBS, a.k.a. spastic colon), functional bloating, functional constipation, functional diarrhea, and unspecified functional bowel disorders. Epidemiologic, pathophysiologic and therapeutic studies of functional bowel diseases, employed the Rome Criteria with universal validity. Patients with malignancy can experience different types of cancer-related pain at any time during the disease process, perceived by the organs or systems involved.