title: Acute abdominal pain in the presence of hemi-corporeal neurosensory deficits.
abstract: Acute abdominal conditions may be extremely difficult to diagnose in patients with spinal cord neurologic deficits. Syringomyelia, and the surgical treatment of it, can cause an unusual distribution of neurosensory defects involving primarily pain and temperature sensation, and this can mask occult intraabdominal pathology. We report a case of acute abdominal pain in a patient previously treated with a syringo-pleural shunt for correction of a cervical syringomyelia and the difficulties in diagnosis that this presents.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta 30912.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Starling
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Wei
mesh_terms: D000006:Abdomen, Acute / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D000328:Adult; D002763:Cholecystectomy; D002764:Cholecystitis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D002769:Cholelithiasis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D006987:Hypesthesia / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D010146:Pain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013595:Syringomyelia / Q000503:physiopathology*