Major causes of chest pain in children with approximate percentage of all chest pain presentations from published literature1 3 4 6
| Group | Pathogenesis | Approx. percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Musculoskeletal | Costochondritis Tietze's syndrome Precordial catch | 24–56 |
| Respiratory | Cough Bronchospasm Pleuritic processes (pneumonia/pneumothorax/pulmonary embolus) | 7–20 |
| Idiopathic | 12–52 | |
| Psychogenic | Anxiety Hyperventilation/disordered breathing | 1–9 |
| Gastrointestinal | Acid reflux Oesophagitis Gastric ulceration | 3–6 |
| Miscellaneous | Herpes Zoster Sickle cell crisis Tumours (chest wall/mediastinal) | 4–11 |
| Cardiac | Pericarditis Arrhythmia Myocardial ischaemia (eg, aortic stenosis, hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy, coronary artery disease) Mitral valve prolapse Myocarditis | 0.6–1 |