*9.1.1 Abdominal pain*

Abdominal pain is a significant warning sign. Abdominal pain can be caused by other problems such as urinary tract infections, acute urinary retentions, pneumonia, insufficient analgesia policy, or peritonitis manifestation. The utilization of the numerical rating scale (NRS) seems to be an essential tool for measuring postoperative pain in postoperative colorectal surgery. According to a study by Bostrom et al., pain is an important marker of CAL. Moderate or severe postoperative pain (NRS 4–10) was associated with an increased risk of anastomotic leakage [125]. Abdominal pain is one of the symptoms included on the DULK score, a scoring system developed from clinical predictors of CAL. The presence of exuberant pain requires imaging and reassessment after 12 hours.
