Acta paediatrica
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The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of pain and characteristics of pain (frequency, duration, intensity) among children and adolescents and to compare them across different age and gender groups. ⋯ Almost half of the surveyed children and adolescents had suffered complaints for longer than 3 mo. The experience of pain in general and especially pain with a duration of longer than 3 mo is very common in children and adolescents, and requires further attention. Further studies are necessary to investigate the natural course, functional implications and prognosis due to pain complaints in children and adolescents.
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Procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) are two acute-phase reactants with different clinical features. The study aimed to compare the diagnostic value of admission serum PCT and CRP concentrations as indicators of aetiology and intensity of inflammation in children hospitalized with diarrhoea. ⋯ In this study PCT was a more reliable marker than CRP of systemic bacterial infection in children with diarrhoea. PCT was more specific but less sensitive in the differentiation of bacterial and non-bacterial aetiology of inflammation.