Causes of left upper quadrant abdominal pain

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Mugilan Poongkunran M.B.B.S [2]

Overview

Left upper quadrant (LUQ) pain can originate from the chest, diaphragm, abdomen, peritoneum or from general 'medical' causes. Abdominal causes are generally due to the pathology involving spleen, stomach (may have epigastric pain, LUQ pain or back pain), pancreas (may have epigastric or back pain), spleenic flexure of the left colon (may have low abdominal pain or left flank pain), and left kidney (may have loin pain). Pain orginating from intra-abdominal organ pathology may not localise accurately and diaphragmatic pain can be referred to the shoulder tip.

Causes of Left Upper Quadrant Abdominal pain

Life Threatening Causes

• List the life-threatening causes here.Causes of Causes of left upper quadrant abdominal pain developed by WikiDoc.org, Copyleft 2013. Redistribution without attribution prohibited by law.

Common Causes

• Basal pneumonia
• Empyema
• Gastritis
• Gastroduodenal ulcers
• Kidney cancer
• Pancreatitis
• Pericarditis
• Pleuritis
• Pulmonary infarction
• Pyelonephritis
• Renal pain
• Spleen tumor
• Splenic infarction
• Splenic rupture
• Splenomegaly

Causes by Organ System

Cardiovascular	Abdominal aortic aneurysm rupture, infective endocarditis, intestinal lymphangiectasia, ischemic colitis, malignant hypertension, mesenteric artery ischemia, pancreatic ischemia, pulmonary arteriovenous malformations, pulmonary embolism, pulmonary infarction, purulent pericarditis, rheumatoid vasculitis, splenic artery aneurysm, splenic artery embolization, splenic infarction, systemic vasculitis
Chemical/Poisoning	Algal toxin in shellfish, aluminum toxicity, arsenic poisoning, cadmium toxicity, chromium poisoning, copper poisoning, ecstasy overdose, ethylene glycol poisoning, food poisoning, gold, heavy metals, iron poisoning, lead poisoning, mercury poisoning, methanol, organophosphate poisoning, saw palmetto, scorpion sting, silver poisoning, toxic mushrooms
Dental	No underlying causes
Dermatologic	Scarlet fever, Scleroderma
Drug Side Effect	Aspirin, atorvastatin, azathioprine, cerivastatin, colchicine toxicity, cyclosporin, diclofenac, didanosine, estrogen, fentanyl toxicity, fluvastatin, furosemide, hydroxyurea, ibuprofen, indomethacin, L-asparaginase, malignant hyperthermia, mercaptopurine (6-MP), methotrexate, metronidazole, naproxen, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), pentamidine, propylthiouracil, Reye's syndrome, salicylates, stavudine, steroid abuse, sulindac, tetracycline, thiazides, thrombolytic therapy, tramadol toxicity, valproic acid, valsartan, vinblastine, vincristine, vitamin D toxicity, warfarin, zalcitabine
Ear Nose Throat	No underlying causes
Endocrine	Carcinoid, diabetic ketoacidosis, hyperlipidemia (types I, IV, V), hyperparathyroidism, MODY syndrome, multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1, Zollinger-Ellison syndrome
Environmental	Organophosphate poisoning, saw palmetto
Gastroenterologic	Abdominal compartment syndrome, acinic cell carcinoma, acute pancreatitis, acute diverticulitis, atraumatic splenic rupture, autoimmune gastritis, autoimmune pancreatitis, Bannayan-Zonana syndrome, bile reflux disease, bulimia nervosa, celiac disease, chronic constipation, collagenous colitis, colon cancer, colonic lymphoma, hereditary spherocytosis, congestive splenomegaly, crohn's disease, cystic metastasis to the spleen, eosinophilic gastroenteritis, familial adenomatous polyposis, Felty's syndrome, gastric carcinoma, gastrinoma, gastritis, Gaucher disease, gout, hepatorenal syndrome, hiatus hernia, hyperlipidemia (types I, IV, V), intestinal lymphangiectasia, intestinal pseudo-obstruction, intussusception, irritable bowel syndrome, ischemic colitis, islet cell adenoma, malignant peritoneal mesothelioma, ménétrier's disease, milk-alkali syndrome, pancreatic cystic neoplasms, pancreatic tail cancer, peptic ulcer disease, perforated gastric ulcer, peritonitis, pernicious anemia, Peutz-Jeghers syndrome, polycystic kidney disease with splenic cysts, porphyria, pseudocysts cystic splenosis, scarlet fever, scleroderma, somatostatinoma, splenic abscess, splenic hematoma and laceration, splenic infarction, splenic lymphoma, splenosis, stress ulcer, subphrenic abscess, traumatic splenic rupture, typhoid fever, ulcerative colitis, viral gastroenteritis, visceral hamartoma, visceral hemangioma, volvulus, wandering spleen syndrome, Zollinger-Ellison syndrome
Genetic	Alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency, Alport syndrome, apolipoprotein C deficiency, beta thalassemia major, colon atresia, cystic fibrosis, cystinuria, Dent's disease, familial adenomatous polyposis, Gaucher disease, hereditary angio-oedema, homocystinuria, hyperlipidemia (types I, IV, V), Meckel syndrome, polycystic kidney disease with splenic cysts, porphyria, primary hyperoxaluria, sickle cell anemia, tuberous sclerosis, Turner syndrome, Von Hippel-Lindau Disease, WAGR syndrome, Williams syndrome
Hematologic	Acquired hemolytic anemia, antiphospholipid syndrome, beta thalassemia major, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, chronic myeloid leukemia, hereditary spherocytosis, cryoglobulinemia, essential thrombocytosis, hairy cell leukemia, lymphomas, MALT lymphoma, mastocytosis, myelofibrosis, myoglobinuria , plasma cell leukemia, polycythemia vera, porphyria, Sézary syndrome, sickle cell anemia, Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia
Iatrogenic	Chromoendoscopy, cryoablation, exercise-induced gastrointestinal bleeding, gas following laparoscopy, gastric surgery, intra abdominal adhesions, large volume thoracentesis, magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography, milk-alkali syndrome, nasogastric and nasoenteric tubes, pancreaticoduodenectomy (Whipple procedure), percutaneous abdominal biopsy, peritoneal dialysis, post-ERCP perforation, post-traumatic cysts, precut (access) papillotomy, radiation therapy, referred pain, splenic artery embolization, vitamin D toxicity
Infectious Disease	AIDS with mycobacterium avium complex, AIDS-associated nephropathy, AIDS-related cytomegalovirus, amebic dysentery, ascariasis, babesiosis, bacillary dysentery, botryomycosis, brucellosis, campylobacter jejuni, candidiasis, chronic malaria, giardiasis, helicobacter pylori infection, histoplasmosis, hydatid (echinococcal) cysts, infectious mononucleosis, infective endocarditis, inflammatory pleural effusions, intestinal worm infestation, kala-azar (visceral leishmaniasis), mediterranean spotted fever, miliary tuberculosis, mumps, peritonitis, pneumonia, post streptococcal glomerulonephritis, psittacosis, purulent pericarditis, pyelonephritis, renal abscess, perinephric abscess, renal mucormycosis, renal tuberculosis, shingles, splenic abscess, staphylococcal toxic shock syndrome, streptococcal toxic shock syndrome, subphrenic abscess, traveler's diarrhea, tropical splenomegaly syndrome, typhoid fever, vibrio parahaemolyticus, viral gastroenteritis, viral hemorrhagic fevers, Weil syndrome, yellow fever
Musculoskeletal/Orthopedic	Gout
Neurologic	Meckel syndrome
Nutritional/Metabolic	Carbohydrate-deficient glycoprotein syndrome, cystinuria, Gaucher Disease, homocystinuria, hyperuricaemia, oxalosis
Obstetric/Gynecologic	Eclampsia, endometriosis, gestational trophoblastic disease
Oncologic	Acinic cell carcinoma, Bannayan-Zonana syndrome, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, chronic myeloid leukemia, colon cancer, colonic lymphoma, cystic metastasis to the spleen, Denys-Drash syndrome, essential thrombocytosis, familial adenomatous polyposis, gastric carcinoma, gastrinoma, hairy cell leukemia, islet cell adenoma, malignant peritoneal mesothelioma, MALT lymphoma, mastocytosis, ménétrier's disease, myelofibrosis, pancreatic tail cancer, Peutz-Jeghers syndrome, plasma cell leukemia, polycythemia vera, renal angiosarcoma, renal cell carcinoma, Sézary syndrome, somatostatinoma, splenic lymphoma, tuberous sclerosis, tumor lysis syndrome, visceral hamartoma, visceral hemangioma, Von Hippel-Lindau disease, WAGR syndrome, Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia, Wilms' tumor
Ophthalmologic	No underlying causes
Overdose/Toxicity	Cocaine overdose, contrast agents, fentanyl toxicity, steroid abuse, tramadol toxicity
Psychiatric	Bulimia nervosa, intestinal pseudo-obstruction, irritable bowel syndrome, stress ulcer
Pulmonary	Alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency, cystic fibrosis, empyema, Goodpasture syndrome, inflammatory pleural effusions, pneumonia, pulmonary arteriovenous malformations, pulmonary embolism, pulmonary infarction, systemic lupus erythematosus, Wegener's granulomatosis
Renal/Electrolyte	Alport syndrome, cystinuria, Dent's disease, Denys-Drash syndrome, Goodpasture syndrome, homocystinuria, Meckel syndrome, medullary cystic kidney disease, membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis, myoglobinuria, nephrocalcinosis, oxalosis, polycystic kidney disease with splenic cysts, post streptococcal glomerulonephritis, pyelonephritis, reflux nephropathy, perinephric abscess, renal angiosarcoma, renal cell carcinoma, renal mucormycosis, renal tuberculosis, renal tubular acidosis, scleroderma, systemic lupus erythematosus, tuberous sclerosis, tubulointerstitial nephritis, Turner syndrome, urinary outflow obstruction, vesicoureteral reflux, Von Hippel-Lindau disease, WAGR syndrome, Wegener's granulomatosis, Weil syndrome, Williams syndrome, Wilms tumor, xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis
Rheumatology/Immunology/Allergy	Allergic gastroenteropathy, autoimmune gastritis, autoimmune pancreatitis, crohn's disease, cryoglobulinemia, Felty's syndrome, food intolerance, hereditary angio-oedema, pernicious anemia, Reye's syndrome, rheumatoid vasculitis, scarlet fever, systemic lupus erythematosus, systemic vasculitis, ulcerative colitis, Wegener's granulomatosis
Sexual	Denys-Drash syndrome, Turner syndrome
Trauma	Electrical burns, rib fractures, splenic hematoma and laceration, traumatic splenic rupture
Urologic	No underlying causes
Miscellaneous	Alcohol ingestion, chronic constipation, excessive caffeine, idiopathic, spicy food, splenosis

Causes by Organ System developed by WikiDoc.org, Copyleft 2013

Causes in Alphabetical Order

• Disease A

• Disease B

• Disease C

Causes of Causes of left upper quadrant abdominal pain developed by WikiDoc.org, Copyleft 2013