FACP, or functional abdominal cramping pain, is a common symptom that can occur on its own or in tandem with another functional gastrointestinal disease. There are presumably numerous, at least partially unexplained, causes. However, effective management of FACP can be difficult due to the wide variety of therapy options and the absence of reliable diagnostic tools. Choosing and using them effectively has less practical direction. This article aims to provide a consensus-based working definition of FACP and offer clinicians, pharmacists, and patients actionable techniques for diagnosing and managing this illness.
In order to define FACP and agree upon a proposed sequence of diagnostic criteria and management recommendations, a panel of functional gastrointestinal disorder experts was established to take part in workshop activities. The definition of FACP and the suggested management algorithms are based on several key principles, including the central role of antispasmodics in the treatment of FACP, the importance of recognizing and acting upon alarm signals of potential structural disease, the importance of recognizing known causes that might be addressed through lifestyle adjustment, and the primacy of cramping pain as the distinguishing symptom.
The proposed approach is meant to aid doctors in arriving at a useful diagnostic endpoint from patient-reported FACP symptoms. Researchers also talk about how pharmacists and patients can modify the algorithm to fit their needs.
Source: journals.lww.com/jcge/Fulltext/2022/11000/Functional_Abdominal_Cramping_Pain__Expert.6.aspx
