Functional abdominal pain is a common disorder in children. It is an abdominal pain that is distinct from that suggested by any underlying organic pathology. Subtypes of functional abdominal pain include irritable bowel syndrome, functional dyspepsia, and abdominal migraine. Functional abdominal pain is one of several categories of gastrointestinal (GI) disorders classified by the Rome IV criteria, with the other categories including functional nausea and vomiting or functional defecation disorders.
The Rome IV criteria, published in 2016, allow for clinical diagnosis of functional abdominal pain and related functional conditions (irritable bowel syndrome, functional dyspepsia, abdominal migraine). As a change from the prior Rome III criteria, functional abdominal pain can be diagnosed based on symptoms “after appropriate medical evaluation the symptoms cannot be attributed to another medical condition” rather than the previous criteria’s requirement that there “is no evidence for organic disease.”
The diagnostic Rome IV criteria for functional abdominal pain must be fulfilled for at least 2 months before diagnosis, must be met at least 4 times per month, and include all of the following:
Episodic or continuous abdominal pain that does not occur solely during physiological events such as eating and menses
Insufficient criteria for other functional GI disorders including irritable bowel syndrome, functional dyspepsia, or abdominal migraine
After appropriate evaluation, the abdominal pain cannot be fully explained by another medical condition *Criteria
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