There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.
Abstract
Chest pain is common in children seen in emergency departments, ambulatory clinics,
and cardiology clinics. Although most children have a benign cause of their pain,
some have serious and life-threatening conditions. The symptom must be carefully evaluated
before reassurance and supportive care are offered. Because serious causes of chest
pain are uncommon and not many prospective studies are available, it is difficult
to develop evidence-based guidelines for evaluation. The clinician evaluating a child
with chest pain should keep in mind the broad differential diagnosis and pursue further
investigation when the history and physical examination suggest the possibility of
serious causes.