Investigation of the Presence of Atopy in Pediatric Patients Visiting the Pediatric Cardiology Department due to Chest Pain

Abstract Background Chest pain is one of the important reasons for hospital admissions among children. However, it is known that the cause of chest pain is mostly not because of cardiac origin Objectives It was aimed to investigate asthma and other atopic diseases in children with chest pain that is not originated from cardiac problems. Patients and Methods: Children aged 6–18 years who were investigated for chest pain in the pediatric cardiology and pediatric allergy-immunology departments were included in the study. Hematological parameters, pulmonary function tests and skin prick tests were performed. Atopic diseases and existence of environmental factors (smoking exposure, presence of pet, stove use, wool use and mold) had been questioned. Results The non-cardiac chest pain group (Group 1) included 88 children (female: 53.4%) and mean age of 11.92 ± 3.35 years; the control group (Group 2) included 29 children (female: 53.8%) and 11.38 ± 1.95 years (p > 0.05). Family history of atopy (22.72%) and skin prick test positivity (28.4%) were higher in group 1 than group 2 (p = 0.006; p = 0.017 respectively). The presence of environmental factors except mold was significantly higher in group 1 (54.5%) than group 2 (3.4%) (p = 0.000). Asthma and allergic rhinitis were diagnosed in 44.32% and 9.09% of them. Idiopathic chest pain, musculoskeletal system disorders, gastroesophageal reflux and pneumonia were found in 23.86%, 11.36%, %7.95 and 3.41% of group 1 respectively. Conclusions In this study, the most common cause of non-cardiac chest pain was asthma, while idiopathic chest pain was the second most common. A detailed history and careful physical examination will accurately establish the cause of chest pain in most children.