Causes of right upper quadrant abdominal pain

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

Overview

Acute right upper quadrant abdominal pain usually arises from the liver and the biliary tree. Gallstone diseases are among the most common causes of right upper quadrant abdominal pain; hence, an emphasis is first laid on the gallstone diseases while approaching the patient.

Causes of Right Upper Quadrant Abdominal Pain

Life Threatening Causes

Common Causes

Causes by Organ System

Cardiovascular	Congestive heart failure, ischemic colitis, myocarditis, veno-occlusive disease
Chemical/Poisoning	No underlying causes
Dental	No underlying causes
Dermatologic	Herpes zoster, polymyositis
Drug Side Effect	Cholecystitis, duodenal ulcer
Ear Nose Throat	No underlying causes
Endocrine	Addisonian crisis, adrenal hemorrhage, adrenal tuberculosis, constipation, pheochromocytoma
Environmental	Heat stroke
Gastroenterologic	Acute cholecystitis, acute fatty liver, acute hepatitis, acute pancreatitis, ascending cholangitis, ascending retrocecal appendicitis, atypical acute appendicitis, biliary colic, biliary dyskinesia, Budd-Chiari syndrome, cholecystitis, choledocholithiasis, colitis, congestive heart failure, constipation, Crohn's disease, diverticulosis, duodenal ulcer, dyspepsia, gallbladder perforation, gallstone disease, gallstone pancreatitis, gangrenous cholecystitis, gastroenteritis, hepatic abscess, hepatic flexure carcinoma, hepatic tumor, hepatomegaly, HIV, inflammatory hepatomegaly, irritable bowel syndrome, ischemic colitis, peptic ulcer disease, perihepatitis, seizures, sepsis, Zollinger-Ellison syndrome
Genetic	No underlying causes
Hematologic	Budd-Chiari syndrome, choledocholithiasis, hemoglobinopathies, sickle cell disease, veno-occlusive disease
Iatrogenic	Partial hepatectomy
Infectious Disease	Acute hepatitis, adrenal hemorrhage, adrenal tuberculosis, ascending cholangitis, colitis, duodenal ulcer, Fitz-Hugh-Curtis syndrome, gastroenteritis, hepatic abscess, herpes zoster, HIV, pelvic inflammatory disease, perihepatitis, pyelonephritis, sepsis, subdiaphragmatic abscess
Musculoskeletal/Orthopedic	Abdominal wall pain, painful rib syndrome, polymyositis
Neurologic	Seizures
Nutritional/Metabolic	Choledocholithiasis, constipation, diabetic ketoacidosis
Obstetric/Gynecologic	Acute fatty liver, eclampsia, HELLP syndrome, pelvic inflammatory disease, preeclampsia
Oncologic	Hepatic flexure carcinoma, hepatic tumor, Kaposi's sarcoma, malignant infiltration of liver, metastatic infiltration of right adrenal gland, pheochromocytoma, renal carcinoma, Zollinger-Ellison syndrome
Ophthalmologic	No underlying causes
Overdose/Toxicity	No underlying causes
Psychiatric	No underlying causes
Pulmonary	Empyema, pleural effusion, pleurisy, pleuritis, pneumonia, pulmonary embolism, pulmonary infarction
Renal/Electrolyte	Glomerulonephritis, hydronephrosis, pyelonephritis, renal carcinoma, renal colic, renal cyst
Rheumatology/Immunology/Allergy	Addisonian crisis, glomerulonephritis, polymyositis
Sexual	No underlying causes
Trauma	Adrenal hemorrhage, collisions, falls, solid organ laceration or perforated viscus
Urologic	No underlying causes
Miscellaneous	Heavy exercise

Causes in Alphabetical Order

References

↑ Haberman, D.; Castignola, M.; Martínez, A.; Paladini, H.; Toda, M.; Baldessari, EM.; Ramisch, D.; Gondolesi, G. (2011). "[Acute abdomen with right hypochondrial pain: an unusual cause]". Acta Gastroenterol Latinoam. 41 (4): 276, 357–8. PMID 22292219. Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)

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[1] Haberman, D.; Castignola, M.; Martínez, A.; Paladini, H.; Toda, M.; Baldessari, EM.; Ramisch, D.; Gondolesi, G. (2011). "[Acute abdomen with right hypochondrial pain: an unusual cause]". Acta Gastroenterol Latinoam. 41 (4): 276, 357–8. PMID 22292219. Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)

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