Referrals

Abdominal pain red-flag referral checklist

Referral checklist for unresolved abdominal pain with warning features or diagnostic uncertainty.

Last reviewed 2026-02-07|abdominal pain | general surgery | workup

At a glance

Fast checkpoints for point-of-care decisions.

Minimum pre-referral workup

Urgency tier and escalation triggers

Same-day escalation for peritonitis concern, hemodynamic instability, severe GI bleeding, or persistent vomiting with dehydration.
Expedited referral for persistent severe pain, progressive weight loss, or unresolved diagnostic concern despite initial assessment.
Routine referral for non-acute persistent symptoms needing specialist workup.

Referral packet essentials

Structured history with pain location, timing, severity, and associated symptoms.
Objective findings, labs/imaging completed, and response to initial management.
Current medication list and comorbidity profile.

Pre-referral optimization tasks

Confirm workup completeness, urgency tiering, and referral packet quality before submission.

Verify baseline investigations are complete and recent.

Separate urgent pathways from routine referral flow.

Same-day escalation for peritonitis concern, hemodynamic instability, severe GI bleeding, or persistent vomiting with dehydration.
Expedited referral for persistent severe pain, progressive weight loss, or unresolved diagnostic concern despite initial assessment.
Routine referral for non-acute persistent symptoms needing specialist workup.

Include all mandatory data to reduce rejected referrals.

Structured history with pain location, timing, severity, and associated symptoms.
Objective findings, labs/imaging completed, and response to initial management.
Current medication list and comorbidity profile.

Address interim safety, optimization, and follow-up steps before handoff.

Jump to

Same-day escalation for peritonitis concern, hemodynamic instability, severe GI bleeding, or persistent vomiting with dehydration.
Expedited referral for persistent severe pain, progressive weight loss, or unresolved diagnostic concern despite initial assessment.
Routine referral for non-acute persistent symptoms needing specialist workup.

Structured history with pain location, timing, severity, and associated symptoms.
Objective findings, labs/imaging completed, and response to initial management.
Current medication list and comorbidity profile.