Chest Pain in Children

Abstract

Chest pain is one of the most common reasons for admission to the emergency department, pediatrics and pediatric cardiology clinics in childhood. While pain is not usually caused by a serious cause, it can be of concern to the patient and their parents. Clinicians should inform the family of the benign nature of chest pain, unless they consider an important underlying cause. Routine referral of these patients to the cardiology department is not recommended, as it increases family and patient anxiety and may cause unnecessary evaluation. Chest pain can occur at any age, but its incidence increases after 10 years of age. The most frequent causes are costochondritis, chest wall muscle pain due to trauma or muscle strain and respiratory tract diseases. Cardiac reasons are rare with a prevalence of less than 6% and further diagnostic studies does not always necessary.