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Aetiological evaluation of chest pain in childhood and adolescence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 May 2020

Emre Aygun*
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, Okmeydani Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
Sibel Tugce Aygun
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, Okmeydani Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
Taciser Uysal
Affiliation:
Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Okmeydani Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
Fatih Aygun
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, Okmeydani Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
Hasan Dursun
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, Okmeydani Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
Ahmet Irdem
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, Okmeydani Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
*
Author for correspondence: E. Aygun, Department of Pediatrics, Okmeydani Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul34384, Turkey. Tel: +90 5302071663; Fax: +90 0212 221 78 00. E-mail: emreaygun88@gmail.com

Abstract

Background:

Chest pain, as a common cause of hospital admissions in childhood, necessitates detailed investigations due to a wide range of differential diagnoses. In this study, we aimed to determine the distribution of diseases causing chest pain in children and investigate the clinical characteristics of children with chest pain.

Methods:

This study included 782 patients aged between 3 and 18 years who presented to a paediatric cardiology outpatient clinic with chest pain between April 2017 and March 2018. Aetiological causes and demographic features of the patients were analysed.

Results:

Most prevalent causes of chest pain were musculoskeletal system (33%) and psychogenic (28.4%) causes. Chest pain due to cardiac reasons was seen in eight patients (1%). Diseases of musculoskeletal and gastrointestinal systems and psychogenic disorders were significantly more common in male and female patients, respectively (p < 0.001 for all). In winter, patients’ age and the number of patients with ≥12 years were higher than those in other seasons (p < 0.001). Most of the parents (70.8%) and patients (90.2%) thought that chest pain in their children was caused by cardiac causes.

Conclusion:

Most of the diagnoses for chest pain in childhood period are benign and include the musculoskeletal system and psychogenic diseases. Although chest pain due to cardiac diseases is rare, a comprehensive analysis of medical history, detailed physical examination and cardiac imaging with echocardiography is needed to reach more accurate diagnoses.

Type
Original Article
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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