Abdominal Pain
Determining the Cause
Stable Patient
Click on Location of Pain
[
| Letter | Question | What it reveals |
|---|---|---|
| S — Site | Where exactly is the pain? | Organ localization |
| O — Onset | When did it start? Sudden or gradual? | Vascular vs. inflammatory vs. functional |
| C — Character | Burning, cramping, stabbing, dull? | Type of tissue involved |
| R — Radiation | Does it go anywhere else? | Classic patterns (e.g., shoulder = diaphragm irritation) |
| A — Associations | Nausea? Fever? Bowel changes? Urinary symptoms? | Systemic vs. localized |
| T — Timing | Constant or comes and goes? Getting better or worse? | Acute vs. chronic, progressive vs. resolving |
| E — Exacerbating/Relieving | What makes it worse or better? | Functional clues (food, position, movement, defecation) |
| S — Severity | Score 1–10 | Urgency and clinical weight |
