[Abdominal pain in children].

A differentiation between chronic relapsing abdominal pain and acute pain is necessary in children. Whilst only 5 - 10 % of the cases of chronic abdominal pain have an organic correlate, such is almost always present in acute abdominal pain. In this chapter we will deal only with the acute abdominal pain in children. It is essential to realize that abdominal pain, especially in small children, can occur even if there is no organic correlate in the abdomen. Pneumonia or even urinary infections may result in acute abdominal pain. The age of the child is crucial in establishing the diagnosis, as typical diseases occur only within a certain age range. In this chapter we present the most typical diseases in children with acute abdominal pain.