title: Inexplicable Abdominal Pain due to Thoracic Spinal Cord Tumor.
abstract: Chronic, refractory abdominal pain without a metabolic or structural gastroenterological etiology can be challenging for diagnosis and management. Even though it is rare, it has been reported that such a recurrent abdominal pain associated with radicular pattern can be derived from structural neurologic lesion like spinal cord tumor. We experienced an unusual case of chronic recurrent abdominal pain that lasted for two years without definite neurologic deficits in a patient, who has been harboring thoracic spinal cord tumor. During an extensive gastroenterological workup for the abdominal pain, the spinal cord tumor had been found and was resected through surgery. Since then, the inexplicable pain sustained over a long period of time eventually resolved. This case highlights the importance of taking into consideration the possibility of spinal cord tumor in differential diagnosis when a patient complains of chronic and recurrent abdominal pain without other medical abnormalities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, St. Paul's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jung Eun
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, St. Paul's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Myung Eun
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, St. Paul's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Dae Heon
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, St. Paul's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Hyun Sook
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Choi
keywords: Abdominal pain; Spinal cord tumor