Hospital and Telephone Triage

91 videos, 4 hours and 28 minutes

Course Content

Debrief - Abdominal pain

Video 55 of 91
1 min 19 sec
English
English

Assessment of Abdominal Pain in Triage: Best Practices

Understanding Abdominal Pain

Assessing abdominal pain in triage can be challenging due to the numerous organs in the abdominal cavity.

Specific Pain Localization

When assessing pain location, it's crucial to ask patients to point with one finger to specify the exact site of discomfort. This method avoids vague descriptions using the whole hand.

Gender-Specific Considerations

Female patients may experience cardiac pain differently than males. It's essential to consider this difference unless the patient presents with a known medical history, such as gallstones, which can lead to typical gallstone pain.

Diagnostic Considerations

For patients suspected of having biliary colic, including this case, consideration of an ECG may be beneficial to rule out cardiac issues. Biliary colic is not solely related to gallstones; it also involves assessing their location and potential for infection.