title: [Abdominal pain in the general doctor's practice].
abstract: Abdominal pain is a frequent symptom and in the majority of cases the underlying disease is not life threatening. The general practitioner's first task is to differentiate between inflammatory and other diseases. The patient's history, the clinical examination and laboratory tests form the basis for the differential diagnosis. A sonography is the first additional examination in the vast majority of the cases. Accidentally found gallstones usually do not require surgical intervention. Surgery in asymptomatic patients should be limited to gallbladder polyps and patients with calcifications in their gallbladder wall.
authors.affiliation: Universitätsklinik für Viszerale Chirurgie und Medizin, Inselspital, Universität Bern.
authors.forename: Eliane
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Angst
authors.forename: Corina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Beat
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gloor
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Schweizer
mesh_terms: D015746:Abdominal Pain / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy; D000700:Analgesics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D020685:Colonoscopes; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D058006:General Practice / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D033162:Incidental Findings; D007388:Internal Medicine / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008487:Medical History Taking; D014463:Ultrasonography
chemical_list: D000700:Analgesics