Chest pain: characteristics of children/adolescents. Pediatr Cardiol 2008 Jul;29(4):775-81
Date
02/29/2008Pubmed ID
18305982DOI
10.1007/s00246-008-9200-9Scopus ID
2-s2.0-46749091279 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 55 CitationsAbstract
Chest pain (CP) in children/adolescents is a common referral for the pediatric cardiologist. A group of 263 patients (141 males/122 females, mean age = 13.4 years, range = 5-22 years) with the primary complaint of CP underwent evaluation in the cardiac stress lab at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. Echocardiograms at rest were obtained in 70% of patients with no significant cardiac abnormalities identified. Endurance time (EXT) and oxygen consumption (VO(2)/kg) were below predicted in 26% and 46%, respectively. Reactive airway disease (RAD) as a preexisting condition was reported in 19% of patients, but abnormal resting pulmonary function (PFTs) were found in 26% (n = 68), with 48/68 never having the diagnosis of RAD. At risk of overweight (BMI >85th percentile), was seen in 28% of the cohort, with 16% identified as being overweight (BMI >95th percentile). A significant difference in RAD (p < 0.01) was seen in African Americans (AA) and decreased EXT (p = 0.01) was seen in Hispanics (H). VO(2)/kg was significantly reduced in both AA and H (p < 0.01). These results identify both racial and age-related differences in the etiology of CP in children. Most importantly, true cardiac pathology is extremely rare. AOW, deconditioning, and respiratory compromise play important roles in CP. The need for comprehensive cardiopulmonary monitoring is emphasized by these findings.
Author List
Danduran MJ, Earing MG, Sheridan DC, Ewalt LA, Frommelt PCAuthor
Peter C. Frommelt MD Adjunct Professor in the Pediatrics department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AdolescentAge Factors
Chest Pain
Child
Child, Preschool
Exercise Test
Female
Humans
Male
Spirometry
Young Adult
