Referred shoulder pain preceding abdominal pain in a teenage girl with gastric perforation.
Referred shoulder pain is an important yet potentially distracting sign of serious intra-abdominal illness. A case is presented wherein shoulder pain preceded by several hours the onset of abdominal pain in a teenage girl with gastric perforation. The range of causes of gastric perforation and the pathophysiology of referred shoulder pain are discussed.
Pappano
Dante Allen
DA
University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA. epappano@aol.com
Bass
Ellen Sofia
ES
D015746:Abdominal Pain / Q000209:etiology*; D000293:Adolescent; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053591:Referred Pain / Q000209:etiology*; D012422:Rupture, Spontaneous; D020069:Shoulder Pain / Q000209:etiology*; D013275:Stomach Rupture / Q000150:complications* / Q000601:surgery; D013997:Time Factors