🚑 EMS Pro Tip: Sorting Through Abdominal Pain Causes 🤔

Did you know that calls for abdominal pain are the second most common emergencies EMTs respond to? As an EMS Professional, it’s crucial to be skilled in assessing and identifying the cause of abdominal pain quickly. 🏥💪

Remember, the abdomen is a complex area housing various organs and vessels from the digestive, urinary, and muscular systems. This complexity can make pinpointing the exact cause of abdominal pain challenging. But fear not! With a systematic approach and knowledge of key assessment techniques, you can effectively sort through the different causes of abdominal pain. 🧩

Here are some essential steps to help with your assessment:

1️⃣ Patient History: Obtain as much information as possible about the patient’s symptoms, medical history, recent trauma or surgeries, allergies, and current medications. These can provide clues to narrow down potential causes.

2️⃣ Perform a Thorough Physical Assessment: When assessing the abdomen, look for tenderness, rigidity, distention or swelling, guarding, and any abnormal masses. Don’t forget to assess vital signs too!

3️⃣ Consider Differential Diagnoses: Keep in mind the broad range of conditions that can cause abdominal pain—appendicitis, kidney stones, gastrointestinal issues—and consider their likelihood based on presenting symptoms.

4️⃣ Monitor Patient Response: Continuously evaluate how the patient responds to interventions or treatments administered during transport (even positioning). Their response can help validate or alter your initial assessment findings.

Remember that sorting through different causes of abdominal pain requires careful attention to detail. The more you practice, the better you will get at identifying potential causes.

If you want some help knowing the differential diagnosis of abdominal pain and other common EMS calls. Download the free guide “Your Patient Didn’t Read The Textbook” at EMSCalls.com

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