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Pediatric somatization in the emergency department: assessing missed opportunities for early management

Punit Virk1,2, Dzung X Vo2,3, Jacob Ellis4

  • 1School of Population and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC.

CJEM
|February 11, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Approximately 16.66% of pediatric emergency department visits may involve somatization, a condition complicating youth health. Longer symptom duration and multiple negative tests increase somatization likelihood in young patients.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Healthcare
  • Mental Health in Youth
  • Clinical Research

Background:

  • Somatization significantly impacts youth functioning and health.
  • The prevalence and burden of somatization in pediatric emergency departments (EDs) are not well understood.
  • Clinician challenges in managing somatizing patients necessitate further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To estimate the prevalence of somatization in a pediatric emergency department.
  • To identify factors associated with somatization in pediatric ED visits.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective cross-sectional study of 150 non-critical, non-mental health ED visits.
  • Data collected via chart review between July 2016 and August 2017.
  • Two clinicians classified visits for probable, possible, or unlikely somatization.

Main Results:

  • 3.33% of youth had probable somatization; 13.33% had a possible somatizing component.
  • Longer symptom duration and multiple negative diagnostic tests were linked to higher somatization likelihood.
  • A significant proportion of visits may involve somatization, potentially underestimating mental health burdens.

Conclusions:

  • Somatization is a notable concern in pediatric EDs, even for non-mental health visits.
  • Increased clinical suspicion for somatization can aid in patient management.
  • Understanding somatization prevalence is crucial for addressing clinician challenges and improving care.
Abstract

Keywords:
Child and adolescentemergency departmentmedically unexplained symptomssomatization

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