Left lower quadrant abdominal pain

Background

• This page describes the general approach to LLQ pain in adults

Classification by Abdominal pain location

Side-by-side comparison of quadrants and regions.

Chart of commonly reported referred pain sites.

RUQ pain	Epigastric pain	LUQ pain
Flank pain	Diffuse abdominal pain	Flank pain
RLQ pain	Pelvic pain	LLQ pain

Clinical Features

• Left lower quadrant abdominal pain

Differential Diagnosis

LLQ Pain

• Diverticulitis
• Kidney stone
• UTI
• Pyelonephritis
• Ectopic pregnancy
• Infectious colitis
• Inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's Disease, Ulcerative Colitis)
• Inguinal hernia
• Mesenteric ischemia
• Epiploic appendagitis
• Mittelschmerz
• Ovarian cyst
• Ovarian torsion
• PID
• Psoas abscess
• Testicular torsion
• Appendicitis
• Abdominal aortic aneurysm
• Herpes zoster
• Endometriosis
• Colon cancer
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Small bowel obstruction

Evaluation

Male

• CBC
• Chem
• Urinalysis
• ?CT abd/pelvis (rule out diverticulitis)
• Testicular exam

Female

• CBC
• Chem
• Urinalysis
• Urine pregnancy
• ?Pelvic ultrasound (rule out ovarian torsion) and/or CT abd/pelvis (rule out diverticulitis)
• Pelvic exam

Management

• Treat underlying disease process

Disposition

• Per underlying disease process

See Also

• Abdominal Pain
• Abdominal Pain (Peds)