Functional abdominal pain can occur in a well-defined clinical entity (e.g., IBS) or as a part of a poorly defined clinical syndrome. Although the clinician may feel compelled to exclude disease in all cases, the authors suggest that it is more appropriate to take a biopsychosocial approach. In so doing, there can be an appreciation of the close interaction of the gut and the brain, allowing the child, family, and physician the opportunity to address the pain on many levels. Although the parameters set forth by the pediatric ROME II committee have facilitated the authors' description of these disorders greatly, basic research likely will further delineate biochemical processes in the enteric and central nervous systems that will expand therapeutic horizons.
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