Parental Worry IDs Most Cases of Severe Illness in Children and Teens

Follow Drugslib on

By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter

Medically reviewed by Drugs.com

via HealthDay

FRIDAY, Feb. 27, 2026 -- Parental worry identifies most cases of severe illness in children and adolescents but has low specificity, according to a study published online Feb. 17 in JAMA Network Open.

Hilla Pöyry, M.D., Ph.D., from Oulu University Hospital in Finland, and colleagues evaluated whether parents accurately identify severe illnesses in their children before emergency department evaluation using a symptom questionnaire. The analysis included data from 2,375 children and adolescents visiting a pediatric emergency department from May 2024 to May 2025.

The researchers found that moderate-to-high parental worry showed the highest sensitivity (91.0 percent) but the lowest specificity (17.5 percent). There was modest diagnostic accuracy for other specific pediatric questions, but with limited additional value. The machine learning model (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, 0.71) identified the strongest predictors of hospital admission as parental worry (feature importance score, 0.047), parent assessments of child or adolescent's general condition (feature importance score, 0.046), and need for treatment (feature importance score, 0.141).

"While parental concern may serve as an initial screening indicator, it should be complemented by clinical evaluation and objective measures to avoid unnecessary escalation of care," the authors write.

Abstract/Full Text

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

Source: HealthDay

Posted : 2026-03-01 01:29

Read more

Disclaimer

Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided by Drugslib.com is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. Drug information contained herein may be time sensitive. Drugslib.com information has been compiled for use by healthcare practitioners and consumers in the United States and therefore Drugslib.com does not warrant that uses outside of the United States are appropriate, unless specifically indicated otherwise. Drugslib.com's drug information does not endorse drugs, diagnose patients or recommend therapy. Drugslib.com's drug information is an informational resource designed to assist licensed healthcare practitioners in caring for their patients and/or to serve consumers viewing this service as a supplement to, and not a substitute for, the expertise, skill, knowledge and judgment of healthcare practitioners.

The absence of a warning for a given drug or drug combination in no way should be construed to indicate that the drug or drug combination is safe, effective or appropriate for any given patient. Drugslib.com does not assume any responsibility for any aspect of healthcare administered with the aid of information Drugslib.com provides. The information contained herein is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects. If you have questions about the drugs you are taking, check with your doctor, nurse or pharmacist.

Popular Keywords