Citation

Quinn M, Caldwell B. J. Pediatr. Health Care 2021; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.pedhc.2021.03.002

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This case report describes a child presenting to a pediatric emergency department with a myriad of physical and psychosocial symptoms leading up to numerous consults, investigations, and treatments. Diagnostic uncertainty can occur when multiple body systems are affected and objective testing is inconclusive or within normal limits. Symptoms such as headache, abdominal pain, and feelings of helplessness or worry, together with the lack of socialization because of the symptoms, can cause isolation and abandonment from school and other activities. Somatic symptoms and related disorders (SSRDs) are among the most common complaints in adolescents, and their prevalence is increasing in recent years ( Malas, Ortiz-Aguayo, Giles and Ibeziako, 2017). Somatization accounts for 25% to 50% of primary care visits in outpatient pediatric settings and 5% to 13% of pediatric patients in inpatient medical units ( Malas et al., 2018). Primary care providers find it challenging to rule out organic disease, a step required to diagnose and manage patients with chronic complaints.

Language: en

Keywords

anxiety; Diagnostic uncertainty; somatic symptoms