Clinical evidence on visceral pain. Systematic review

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Visceral pain is induced by abnormalities of organs such as stomach, kidneys, bladder, gallbladder, intestines and others and includes distension, ischemia, inflmmation and mesenteric traction. It is responsible for physical and psychic incapacity, absenteeism and poor quality of life. Ths study aimed at discussing major aspects of visceral pain with regard to prevalence, etiology and diagnosis. CONTENTS: According to Evidence-Based Medicine concepts, visceral pain etiology, diagnosis and prognosis were reviewed in LILACS, EMBASE and Pubmed databases. Thrapeutic studies were not selected. Th following terms were used as search strategy: (“visceral pain”[MeSH Terms] OR (“visceral”[All Fields] AND “pain”[All Fields]) OR “visceral pain”[All Fields]). Only studies published in Portuguese, English or Spanish were included. Narrative reviews with opinionated content and specifi therapeutic procedures of medical specialties were excluded. Studies on visceral pain related to heart, cancer and musculoskeletal diseases and pregnancy were also excluded. CONCLUSION: Visceral pain is a heterogeneous condition where most frequent presentation is abdominal pain in the course of irritable bowel syndrome. Other diseases induce visceral pain and adequate diagnosis is critical for effctive treatment.