Evaluation Of 441 Pediatric Patients With Chest Pain

Chest pain is a common complaint in children. It doesn’t usually indicate a cardiac problem but it is considered as heartache by the patients and their families. In this article, the patients with chest pain in pediatric cardiology clinic for the last 18 months have been evaluated and the etiology of chest pain has been discussed. The study includes 441 patients with chest pain, who were admitted to the Department of pediatrics, Division of pediatric cardiology, Faculty of Medicine, Selçuk University between May 2011 and November 2012. The data of the patients has been reviewed retrospectively. Medical history and family history of the patients, cardiac physical examination, electrocardiography, echocardiography, 24-hour rhythm holter monitoring, exercise testing and laboratory tests have been evaluated. In our study the mean age of the patients was 11 (5-18 year-old). 217 (49.2%) of the patients were male and 224 (50.8%) of the patients were female. Medical history, physical examination, electrocardiography and echocardiography of all the patients have been evaluated. Cardiac pathology has been recognized in 10 (2.3%) of the patients. The reasons that cause chest pain are idiopathic in 378 (85.7%) patients, psychological in 22 (5%) patients, lung diseases in 20 (4.5%) patients, gastrointestinal disorders in 6 (1.4%) patients, musculoskeletal system diseases in 3 (0.7%) patients, Familial Mediterranean Fever in 1 (0.2%) patient and pectus excavatum in 1 (0.2%) patient. According to this study, the etiology of chest pain in children is extra cardiac factors in majority. Differential diagnosis should be made carefully due to possibility of life threatening consequences of cardiac disorders. If there is no cardiac pathology as a result of medical history, physical examination and laboratory tests the patient and the family should be informed about this.