Abdominal Pain

In children, abdominal pain can occur acutely, intermittently or chronically, due to a large variety of reasons.

The role of the paediatric gastroenterologist is to recognise, diagnose, and manage treatable gastroenterological conditions, such as eosinophilic oesophagitis, food allergies, gastro-oesophageal reflux, gastroenterological infections and inflammation, functional gastro-intestinal disorders, and many others.

The gut-brain axis is a potent bidirectional path to deliver signals from the digestive system to the brain and vice versa. Therefore, there can often be a co-existence of gastroenterological issues with other problems in the body and mind, and it is important to identify and address them comprehensively.

There is good medical evidence that the outcome of managing these interactions is better, if the diagnostic work-up and management in gastroenterology and beyond is supported by identification and approach to other co-existing problems that commonly present in combination with gastroenterological disorders. Examples are anxieties, bullying, depression, attention deficit disorder, autistic spectrum disorder, and others; some patients will benefit from or require input from a child psychologist or professional from local CAMHS teams.