[Diagnostic criteria and therapeutic strategies of abdominal pain syndromes].

Abdominal pain syndromes can be categorised into acute or chronic manifestations. In general, diagnostic work-up is targeted upon identification of structural lesions that cause the symptoms and allows therapeutic measures that permanently cure the cause of symptoms. If no structural or biochemical abnormality can be identified upon utilising the necessary diagnostic measures, a functional disorder as the cause of symptoms is assumed. For these disorders no cure is currently available and treatment is targeted towards relief of symptoms only.