Review of Abdominal Migraine in Children

Abdominal migraine is a type of functional abdominal pain disorder that affects 0.2% to 4.1% of children. It consists of paroxysmal, recurrent, and acute abdominal pain attacks with associated symptoms, including pallor, nausea, vomiting, anorexia, headache, and photophobia. In between episodes, patients return to their baseline health. Abdominal migraine is a clinical diagnosis. Its diagnostic criteria are outlined under the Rome IV criteria and the International Classification of Headache Disorders III criteria. Hypothesized contributors to its pathophysiology include a combination of visceral hypersensitivity, gut-brain enteric nervous system alterations, and psychological factors. Treatment is focused on preventive measures and mostly includes nonpharmacologic approaches. Possible pharmacologic treatments include abortive medications used for migraine headaches such as analgesics and antiemetics. Abdominal migraine is likely underdiagnosed and is poorly understood. Individuals who have abdominal migraine report a lower quality of life, rendering it an important diagnosis. The aim of this article is to review the epidemiology, clinical presentation, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of abdominal migraine in children.