CHAPTER 91 ■ GASTROINTESTINAL EMERGENCIES ERIC A RUSSELL, BRUNO P CHUMPITAZI, CORRIE E CHUMPITAZI GOALS OF EMERGENCY CARE Abdominal complaints are among the most common reasons for a child to present to the emergency department While the majority of these complaints are not life threatening, the emergency provider must be able to recognize the most serious diagnoses and initiate appropriate therapy The goal for the ED physician is to identify and stabilize gastrointestinal (GI) emergencies early in their course This includes the recognition of hemodynamic instability or impending instability secondary to infection, bleeding, organ dysfunction, or ischemia This can be aided by the identification of patients at high risk for life-threatening emergencies such as those with a history of abdominal surgery, organ transplantation, biliary manipulation, immunodeficiency, or primary hepatic, pancreatic, oncologic, or renal disease RELATED CHAPTERS