Spectrum of Pain Abdomen in Adolescents

- Adolescence is a time of transition between childhood and adulthood. It is often divided into three phases early (10 to 13 years), middle (14 to 16 years), and late (17 to 21 years) (Felice 1983). This time is marked by the maturation of cognitive functioning, changes in social and family interaction and by major physiological, endocrinological and physical changes. Here we focus on the interface between the developmental stage of adolescence and the experience of pain by using radiological imaging. The study includes all adolescents who presented to our hospital with abdominal pain during a period of 3 months. It includes 140 patients who are investigated using ultrasonography. The spectrum ranges from functional pain to emergency conditions requiring urgent surgery.