features suggesting non-organic pain
Last reviewed 01/2018
Features which suggest a non-organic origin to recurrent abdominal pain include:
- pain occuring only on school days or under specific social circumstances, such as before weekends visiting an estranged parent
- non-organic abdominal pain is, as a general rule, umbilical or periumbilical
- a family history of recurrent abdominal pain of unknown aetiology may be present
- on examination of the child during an episode of pain, there may be features such as distractability and variability of pain through the examination.