[Abdominal pain in metabolic disorders. Guidelines for patient management for the general surgeon]

Hyperglycaemic-ketotic disorder has proved to be the most common cause of pseudoperitonitis. Porphyria, hypercalcaemic crises, and Addisonian crisis may be accompanied by colicky abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and electrolyte shift. Poisoning, too, may be associated with acute abdominal symptoms. However, absence of objective signs, such as paralysis, or absence of both spontaneous rigidity of the abdominal wall and inflammation may be indicative of pseudoperitonitis. In routine laboratory checks attention should be given to unusual deviations.