Table 2.
Etiology of acute abdominal pain in pregnancy
| Pregnancy-related causes (obstetric) | Non-pregnancy-related causes (non-obstetric) | Exacerbated by pregnancy | Extra-abdominal etiology |
|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||
| Early pregnancy | Surgical | GERD | Cardiac pain |
| Miscarriagea | Appendicitis | Gallbladder disease | NSAP |
| Ectopic pregnancya | Cholecystitis | Acute cystitis | Pleuritic pain |
| Molar pregnancy | Biliary colic | Acute pyelonephritis | Psychological drug abuse or withdrawal |
| Ovarian cyst (torsion, hemorrhage, rupturea) | Acute pancreatitis | Musculoskeletal pain | Herpes zoster infection |
| Degeneration of uterine fibroids | Peptic ulcer | ||
| Round ligament pain | Urolithiasis | ||
| Intestinal obstruction | |||
| Late pregnancy | IBD | ||
| Placental abruptiona | Rupture aneurysm | ||
| AFLPa | Trauma | ||
| Abdominal pregnancya | Medical | ||
| HELLP syndromea | Gastroenteritis | ||
| Rupture uterusa | Porphyria | ||
| Fibroid degeneration | Sickle cell crisis | ||
| Fallopian tube torsion | Deep vein thrombosis | ||
| Uterine torsion | |||
| Rupture rectus muscle | |||
| Polyhydramnios | |||
| Symphysis diastasis | |||
| Intraperitoneal bleed | |||
Note:
a
Denotes life-threatening cause.
Abbreviations: AFLP, acute fatty liver of pregnancy; GERD, gastroesophageal reflux disease; HELLP, hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelet count; IBD, inflammatory bowel disease; NSAP, nonspecific abdominal pain.