title: Understanding and treatment of chronic abdominal pain in pediatric primary care.
abstract: This study examined the practices used by primary care pediatricians to assess and treat chronic abdominal pain (CAP), as an initial step in guiding clinical practice guideline (CPG) development. A survey was mailed to a random sample of office-based pediatrician members (primary care pediatricians [PCPs]) of the American Medical Association. PCPs (n = 470) provided information about the typical presentation of CAP, assessment/treatment approaches used in their own practice, their definition of a functional gastrointestinal disorder (FGID), and their familiarity with the Rome Criteria for diagnosing FGIDs. Substantial variability among PCPs was noted across all these areas. Results suggest that perceptions and practices of pediatric CAP vary widely among PCPs; no single standard of care emerged to guide development of a CPG for this population. Future research should evaluate the efficacy of specific strategies currently in use to identify potential opportunities for improving assessment and treatment of CAP in pediatric primary care.
authors: Children's Mercy Kansas City, Kansas City, MO, USA jschurman@cmh.edu.
authors: Jennifer Verrill
authors: JV
authors: Schurman
authors: University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA.
authors: Emily D
authors: ED
authors: Kessler
authors: Children's Mercy Kansas City, Kansas City, MO, USA.
authors: Craig A
authors: CA
authors: Friesen
mesh_terms: D015746:Abdominal Pain / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D002648:Child; D059350:Chronic Pain / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D019538:Health Care Surveys / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States
keywords: chronic pain; clinical practice; professional attitudes; survey methodology