Differentiated approach to the examining children with chest pain

Abstract

The aim of this work is to determine the causes of chest pain in children with combined pathology and to develop an examination algorithm for chest pain. Materials and methods. Examined 20 children aged 7-18 years who consulted a pediatrician with pain complaints in the chest. To exclude the cardiac genesis of pain, all patients underwent electrocardiography and echocardiography; the rest of the examinations were prescribed, taking into account the anamnesis and clinical examination data. Results. According to the examination results, most patients were found to have gastrointestinal tract pathology: gastroesophageal reflux disease, chronic gastritis, biliary tract dysfunction. Against the background of adherence to a diet and taking medications prescribed by a gastroenterologist, their pain syndrome subsided, which confirmed the noncardial genesis of thoracalgia. A clinical analysis of cases of combined (cardiac and non-cardiac) pathology was carried out, an algorithm for examining children with chest pain was presented. Discussion. The causes of chest pain in children and the tactics of managing these patients are discussed, the clinical significance of the history and clinical examination data in drawing up a plan for the examination of such patients is determined.