The Differential Diagnoses of Acute and Chronic Abdominal Pain

Answer

The Differential Diagnoses of Acute and Chronic Abdominal Pain

The causes of acute and chronic abdominal pain vary across age groups due to the developmental differences. The case study points at two areas of focus for the assessment of the abdominal pain. The focus would rely on age difference as well as the male gender because abdominal pain also varies between males and females.  For instance, females may experience acute abdominal pain as a result of ovarian cycle completion. Devanarayana et al. (2011) opine that the body systems such as physiologic functions, immunity, and susceptibility to infections change as one gets older. The body systems of a 20-year-old male are still well integrated with less vulnerability to infections such as abdominal hernias and malignancies. Consequently, it is less likely for a 20-year-old male to experience abdominal pain due to gastrointestinal cancers and hernias. However, the male younger adults are likely to develop acute abdominal pain from mild causes such as gastric irritation due to unpalatable foods. Constipation is also a common contributor to acute abdominal pain among both adolescents and older adults. On the other hand, there are specific causes of chronic abdominal pain for a 20-year-old male. Klass (2010) posits that more severe causes such as Crohn’s disease, gallbladder attack, hepatitis, and pancreatitis can lead to chronic abdominal pain among younger adults. Therefore, the nurse should use the tests that match the developmental stage of the patient.

A 50-year-old male is already experiencing the aging process that increases susceptibility to risk factors for abdominal pain. Ragsdale and Southerland (2011) assert that the physical changes at old age include reduced intestinal motility, low immunity, reduced elasticity of endothelium of blood vessels, and proneness to abdominal hernias. The low intestinal motility compounded with the high prevalence of stress and depression at old age predisposes this group to constipation that is a remarkable cause of acute abdominal pain. Low immunity predisposes one to parasitic infections such as giardiasis that causes chronic abdominal pain.  The reduced elasticity of blood vessels at in a 50-year-old male makes him vulnerable to vascular diseases such as aneurysms. Aneurysm of the abdominal artery can ultimately lead to its rupture and this can cause acute abdominal pain (Ragsdale and Southerland, 2011). Additionally, the vulnerability to cancer at old age would predispose the 50-year-old male to diseases such as appendicitis, gastric cancer, colon cancer, and large bowel obstruction (Ragsdale and Southerland, 2011). The weakness of the ligaments in the abdomen can also lead to hernias that present with acute abdominal pain. According to Ragsdale and Southerland (2011), the biliary disease is a common cause of chronic abdominal pain among older patients. The diagnosis of abdominal pain should also consider referred pain due to myocardial infarction that presents in most elderly patients. Therefore, nursing diagnoses for abdominal pain should consider the differences in developmental stages. It would be more appropriate to consider severe causes of acute and chronic abdominal pain such as an aneurysm of the abdominal aorta and cancers in the 50-year-old male.