What are the common extraabdominal causes of referred abdominal pain?
Pain referred to the abdomen can be confusing.
- Thoracic: pneumonia, pulmonary embolism, pneumothorax, myocardial infarction or ischemia, esophageal spasm, or perforation
- Neurogenic: radicular pain (spinal cord compression from tumor, abscess, compression, or varicella zoster infection), tabes dorsalis
- Metabolic: uremia, porphyria, acute adrenal insufficiency
- Hematologic: sickle cell anemia, hemolytic anemia, Henoch-Schönlein purpura
- Toxins: insect bites (scorpion bite–induced pancreatitis), lead poisoning
