Left upper quadrant abdominal pain resident survival guide

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Rim Halaby, M.D. [2], Amr Marawan, M.D. [3]

Definition

The left upper quadrant of the human abdomen, often abbreviated as LUQ, is used to refer to a portion of the abdomen that allows doctors to localise pain and tenderness, scars, lumps and other items of interest. The LUQ extends from the median plane to the left of the patient, and from the umbilical plane to the left ribcage.

Causes

• Colon pain (below the area of spleen - bowel obstruction, functional disorders, gas accumulation, spasm, inflammation, colon cancer)
• Pancreas (especially pathology in the tail)
• Pneumonia
• Splenic infarction
• Splenic rupture
• Splenomegaly (e.g. viral hepatitis, cirrhosis, hepatic schistosomiasis, rheumatoid arthritis, leukemia, lymphoma, myeloproliferative disease and sarcoidosis)

Management

Shown below is an algorithm depicting the diagnostic approach of acute abdominal pain in the left upper quadrant.

Peritoneal signs, shock or toxic appearing

No

No

Yes

Symptoms, signs, risk factors or ECG suggestive of acute coronary syndrome

Symptoms, signs or risk factors suggestive of abdominal aortic aneurysm

❑ Initiate resuscitation ❑ Obtain immediate surgical consultation ❑ Perform bedside ultrasound (evaluate aorta, hemoperitoneum, pericardium and inverior vena cava) ❑ Obtain indicated tests and studies (e.g. x-ray, ECG, lactate, lipase and LFTs)

No

Yes

Appropriate management

❑ Surgical consultation ❑ Bedside ultrasound ❑ Abdominal CT

History, examination and risk factors suggest mesentric ischemia (pain out of proportion to exam)

Yes

No

❑ Surgical consultation ❑ Abdominal CT

History and examination suggest bowel obstruction (diffuse tenderness with distention and persistent vomiting) or perforation (rigidity with absent bowel sounds

Yes

No

Abdominal x-ray series

Where is pain localized

Presence of free air

Presence of obstruction

Absent free air and absent obstruction

Epigastric or upper right quadrant tenderness

Right lower quadrant tenderness

Left lower quadrant tenderness

Surgical consult

Abdominal CT

Abdominal CT

Left upper quadrant tenderness

History and physical examination

CT abdomen

CT directed therapy

Do's

• Start the approach to acute abdominal pain by rapid assessment of the patient using the pneumonic "ABC" to identify unstable patients. NB. ABC: Airway, breathing and circulation.
• Consider abdominal aortic aneurysm, mesenteric ischemia and malignancy in patients above 50 years as it is much less likely for younger patients.
• Perform pelvic and testicular examination in patients with low abdominal pain.
• Re-examine patients at high risk who were initially diagnosed with pain of unclear etiology.
• Taking careful history, characterizing the pain precisely and thorough physical examination is crucial for creating narrow differential diagnosis.
• Correlate the CD4 count in HIV positive patients with the most commonly occurring pathology.
• Order a pregnancy test before proceeding with a CT scan in females in the child bearing age.
• Order an ultrasound or magnetic resonance among pregnant females to avoid exposure to radiation. In case the previous tests were inconclusive and appendicitis is suspected, the next step in the management includes proceeding with either laparoscopy or limited CT scan.
• Consider peritonitis with cervical motion tenderness as it isn't specific for pelvic inflammatory disease.
• Suspect abdominal aortic aneurysm in old patients presenting with abdominal pain with history of tobacco use.
• Suspect acute mesenteric ischemia and acute pancreatitis in patients presenting with poorly localized pain out of proportion to physical findings.
• Recommend initial imaging studies based on the location of abdominal pain:

• Ultrasonography is recommended when a patient presents with right upper quadrant pain.
• Computed tomography (CT) with intravenous contrast media is recommended for evaluating adults with acute right lower quadrant pain.
• CT with oral and intravenous contrast media is recommended for patients with left lower quadrant pain.

• Order ECG for old patients with upper abdominal pain with high cardiac risk factors.
• Administer narcotic analgesia for patients who present to the ED with moderate or severe abdominal pain.
• Perform diagnostic paracentesis (cell count, differential count, gram stain, culture, bilirubin and albumin) in patients with ascites and abdominal pain to rule out spontaneous bacterial peritonitis.

Don'ts

• Fail to evaluate elder patients in the presence of overt clinical signs.
• Over rely on laboratory tests, they are only used as adjuncts.
• Do not delay the initial intervention.
• Do not order blood cultures routinely in all patients
• Don’t delay resuscitation or surgical consultation for ill patient while waiting for imaging.
• Don’t restrict the differential diagnosis of abdominal pain based on the location; for example, right-sided structures may refer pain to the left abdomen.