Clinical Characteristics of Chest Pain in Children and Adolescents Referred to a Pediatric Cardiology Unit

Abstract

In contrast to adults, chest pain in children is typically benign; however, symptoms may persist for a considerable period even in benign cases. Therefore, a thorough diagnostic evaluation is crucial to exclude potentially life-threatening causes that require urgent management. To assess the etiology of chest pain and analyze the clinical characteristics of children referred to the Pediatric Cardiology Clinic at the Sirte Oncology Center in Sirte, Libya. Study design: A retrospective analysis of the medical records of Children with chest pain presenting to the Pediatric Cardiology Outpatient Clinic at the Sirte Oncology Center, Sirte, Libya, between January 2022 and March 2026 was conducted. The study protocol was reviewed and approved by the Sirte Oncology Center Ethics Committee. This study included 215 patients: 116 males (53.95%) and 99 females (46.05%). The patients’ ages ranged from 3 to 18 years, with a mean ± SD of 8.62 ± 3.91 years. A total of 3 participants (1.4%) were found to have cardiac chest pain. The prevalence of non-cardiac chest pain among participants was 98.6% (212 participants). Idiopathic causes were the most common, reported in 52.09% of patients (112 patients), followed by musculoskeletal causes (21.86%, 47 patients), pulmonary causes (11.63%, 25 patients), gastrointestinal causes (7.44%, 16 patients), and miscellaneous causes (6.98%, 15 patients). Chest pain is a common presenting symptom that can arise from both cardiac and non-cardiac conditions. Despite a comprehensive assessment, the etiology of chest pain remains unidentified in a significant number of children. Cardiac-related causes of chest pain in children, while uncommon, can be clinically significant and potentially life-threatening.