Abdominal cutaneous nerve entrapment syndrome after blunt abdominal trauma in an 11-year-old girl

Chronic abdominal pain is a common complaint in children. Pain originating from the abdominal wall is often overlooked. Nevertheless, recognizing this type of pain prevents unnecessary examinations (Editorial: Abdominal wall tenderness test: could Carnett cut costs? Lancet. 1991, 337:1134). Abdominal cutaneous nerve entrapment syndrome (ACNES) is a relatively unknown cause of abdominal wall pain in children. Simple questions and clinical tests, which are discussed in this report, can give a direct clue to this disease. The treatment also is equally simple and effective. We describe an 11-year-old girl with ACNES after blunt abdominal trauma, what we believe has not been reported before. Abdominal wall pain, for example, caused by ACNES, as other types of chronic pain, has a serious impact on a child's well-being and future coping mechanisms with disease and health behavior. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.