Carnett's sign
| Carnett's sign | |
|---|---|
| Specialty | Gastroenterology |
| Differential diagnosis | Abdominal wall pain |
In medicine, Carnett's sign is a finding on clinical examination in which (acute) abdominal pain remains unchanged or increases when the muscles of the abdominal wall are tensed.[1][2] For this part of the abdominal examination, the patient can be asked to lift the head and shoulders from the examination table to tense the abdominal muscles. An alternative is to ask the patient to raise both legs with straight knees.
A positive test indicates the increased likelihood that the abdominal wall and not the abdominal cavity is the source of the pain (for example, due to rectus sheath hematoma instead of appendicitis).[3][4] A negative Carnett's sign is said to occur when the abdominal pain decreases when the patient is asked to lift the head; this points to an intra-abdominal cause of the pain.[1]
- ^ a b Suleiman S, Johnston DE (August 2001). "The abdominal wall: an overlooked source of pain". Am Fam Physician. 64 (3): 431–8. PMID 11515832.
- ^ Cartwright SL, Knudson MP (April 2008). "Evaluation of acute abdominal pain in adults". Am Fam Physician. 77 (7): 971–8. PMID 18441863.
- ^ Gray DW, Dixon JM, Seabrook G, Collin J (July 1988). "Is abdominal wall tenderness a useful sign in the diagnosis of non-specific abdominal pain?". Ann R Coll Surg Engl. 70 (4): 233–4. PMC 2498809. PMID 2970820.
- ^ Thomson H, Francis DM (November 1977). "Abdominal-wall tenderness: A useful sign in the acute abdomen". Lancet. 2 (8047): 1053–4. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(77)91885-2. PMID 72957. S2CID 1292751.