Open AccessEvaluation of Abdominal Pain in the AIDS Patient
Author(s) -
Dorothy A. Potter,
David N. Danforth,
Abe M. Macher,
Dan L. Longo,
Leslie Stewart,
Henry Masur
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
annals of surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.153
H-Index - 309
eISSN - 1528-1140
pISSN - 0003-4932
DOI - 10.1097/00000658-198403000-00014
Subject(s) - medicine , abdominal pain , intervention (counseling) , intensive care medicine , surgery , psychiatry
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a recently recognized entity characterized by a deficiency in cell mediated immune response. The syndrome is manifested by the development of otherwise rare malignant neoplasms and severe life-threatening opportunistic infections. Case histories of five AIDS patients evaluated for abdominal pain are presented to demonstrate the unusual spectrum of intra-abdominal pathology that may be encountered in the AIDS patient. As the number of patients with AIDS continues to escalate, surgical evaluation and intervention will be required more frequently. An understanding of this syndrome and its complications is mandatory for the surgeon to adequately evaluate AIDS patients with abdominal pain.