Recurrent abdominal pain

Abstract

Recurrent abdominal pain is found in 10-25% of school-aged children, thus being one of the most frequent complaints in childhood. Despite that, our knowledge about this syndrome is still very incomplete. In the majority of cases, the traditional diagnostic approach understanding abdominal pain as a symptom of an underlying organic or psychological disease does not lead to a well-defined diagnosis with straightforward therapy. The natural course of abdominal pain in childhood seems to be less favorable than often assumed. Modern biopsychosocial models of recurrent abdominal pain are presented as a basis for future multimodal therapeutic concepts.