Pediatric chest pain: using evidence to reduce diagnostic testing in the emergency department.

Abstract

Pediatric chest pain is a relatively common presenting complaint, but identifying serious pathologies without overtesting patients with less-serious pathologies can be a challenge for emergency clinicians. This issue reviews the available literature to provide evidence-based recommendations to support a more standardized approach to the evaluation and management of pediatric patients with chest pain. This issue will help the emergency clinician identify red flags associated with cardiac causes of pediatric chest pain, recognize life-threatening causes of cardiac and non- cardiac chest pain, clinically diagnose the most common causes of non-cardiac chest pain, and appropriately utilize diagnostic tests in the evaluation of chest pain patients.