Which symptom suggests hollow-organ injury in the abdomen?

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Multiple Choice

Which symptom suggests hollow-organ injury in the abdomen?

Progressive abdominal pain with tenderness and signs of peritoneal irritation points to involvement of the peritoneum from hollow-organ injury. When a hollow organ such as the stomach, small intestine, or bladder is perforated, its contents spill into the peritoneal cavity, triggering chemical and inflammatory irritation of the peritoneum. This typically leads to worsening pain, tenderness, guarding, and sometimes rebound—classic peritoneal signs that raise concern for intraperitoneal (hollow-organ) injury. The other scenarios don’t fit as well: sharp flank pain without tenderness suggests a retroperitoneal issue (like a kidney problem), abdominal pain with referred shoulder pain alone indicates diaphragmatic irritation rather than peritoneal irritation, and short-term pain relief would be unusual with an evolving hollow-organ rupture.

Progressive abdominal pain with tenderness and signs of peritoneal irritation points to involvement of the peritoneum from hollow-organ injury. When a hollow organ such as the stomach, small intestine, or bladder is perforated, its contents spill into the peritoneal cavity, triggering chemical and inflammatory irritation of the peritoneum. This typically leads to worsening pain, tenderness, guarding, and sometimes rebound—classic peritoneal signs that raise concern for intraperitoneal (hollow-organ) injury. The other scenarios don’t fit as well: sharp flank pain without tenderness suggests a retroperitoneal issue (like a kidney problem), abdominal pain with referred shoulder pain alone indicates diaphragmatic irritation rather than peritoneal irritation, and short-term pain relief would be unusual with an evolving hollow-organ rupture.

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