Causes of Acute and Chronic Abdominal Pain in 20-Year-Old versus 50-Year-Old Male

Introduction

Abdominal pain remains one of the most common cases in outpatient setting and can be a major challenge in terms of making a diagnosis. Despite the fact that most cases of abdominal pain are those of benign, over 10 percent of all the cases are acute or chronic. From this perspective, there are different factors that a physician should consider while evaluating a patient’s condition. The current paper discusses the causes of acute and chronic abdominal pain in 20 year-old and 50 year-old male patients.

Acute Abdominal Pain Causes in 20-Year-Old Male

Acute abdominal pain in young adults such as in the case of 20 year-old males can be a result of various conditions. It should, however, be noted that these conditions may vary from one patient to another. They include acute appendicitis, gastroenteritis, abdominal trauma and intestinal obstruction. Other possible causes of abdominal pain in young male adults include pancreatitis, dehydration, metabolic or endocrine disorder and renal insufficiency (Dominitz, Sekijima, & Watts, n. d.). It is important to note that these conditions may vary according to the behavioral patterns of the patient. For example, a patient with a history of excessive alcohol intake is more likely to develop pancreatitis compared to a patient who does not consume alcohol in large amounts. In this regard, the diagnosis depends on a number of factors and the physician should learn as much information as possible from the patient before making a diagnosis.

Chronic Abdominal Pain Causes in 20-Year-Old Male

Chronic abdominal pain in a 20 yrs old male patient may be a result of irritable bowel syndrome, lactose intolerance, systematic conditions, hepatitis, pancreatitis, pneumonia, sickle cell problems, and diabetic ketoacidosis, unhealthy eating habits, stress and peptic ulcer disease (Edgerly, 2010). If it is an organic disease, the physician should review the medical history of the patient, conduct physical examination and obtain the results of laboratory tests before making a diagnosis.

Rationale for Differential Diagnoses in 20-Year-Old Male

As indicated above, abdominal pain in a 20 year old male may be a result of a number of factors. Differential diagnosis is thus required to identify the root cause of the abdominal pain. For example, functional abdominal pain is generally caused by unhealthy eating habits or stress. On the other hand, irritable bowel syndrome is generally colicky in nature while abdominal pain arising from gastrointestinal disease may be a result of obstructed bowel, inflammatory bowel disease or peptic ulcer disease (Dominitz et al., n. d.). 

Acute Abdominal Pain Causes in 50-Year-Old Male

The case of an acute abdominal pain in a 50 year-old male patient may differ from that of a 20 year-old one. The situation often gets worse due to coexisting conditions, social and physical barriers and delays in making a diagnosis. At this age, abdominal pain may be either a result of appendicitis, bowel obstructions and pancreatitis or a result of gallstones, medication or alcohol intake and diverticulitis (Edgerly, 2010).

Chronic Abdominal Pain Causes in 50-Year-Old Male

Causes of chronic abdominal pain in a 50 year-old male patient could be biliary disease, cholecystitis, appendicitis or bowel obstruction (Tazkarji, 2008). They are aggravated by the existing medical conditions, presentation or social and physical barriers. 

Rationale for Differential Diagnoses in 50-Year-Old Male

Notably, the causes of abdominal pain in older patients are not highly dissimilar from those found in younger patients. Nevertheless, some processes are common in younger and older patients. For example, cholecystitis such as biliary tract disease is sometimes associated with changes in the biliary tract because of getting older (Edgerly, 2010). Presentation delays may also lead to aggravated cases of appendicitis while pancreatitis may be attributed to biliary tract infections, hypothermia, alcoholism and use of certain medications among others.

Conclusion

Diagnosis in cases of abdominal pain will depend on the medical history of the patient, physical examination and the results of laboratory tests. There are different causes of abdominal pain and they may vary from one patient to another depending on age or behavioral patterns of an individual. More importantly, most cases of acute and chronic abdominal pain are associated with medical conditions including pancreatitis, hepatitis, appendicitis and bowel obstruction to name a few.

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