Parental Ability to Identify Severe Illnesses in Their Children

Can parents accurately identify severe illnesses in their children before emergency department evaluation using a symptom questionnaire?In this diagnostic study of 2375 children and adolescents, moderate to high parental worry showed high sensitivity but low specificity for identifying severe illness, defined as conditions requiring extended observation, specific treatment, or pediatric intensive care unit care. Additional symptom-based questions provided limited incremental diagnostic value.These findings suggest that parental worry may serve as an efficient initial screening indicator for severe illness, but its low specificity underscores the need for complementary clinical assessment.

Corresponding Author: Hilla Pöyry, MD, PhD, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Oulu University Hospital, PO Box 23, FIN-90029, Oulu, Finland (hilla.poyry@pohde.fi).

Link to the article in your story

We encourage you to link out to this article in your story using the link below. It includes an access token that will give free access to the article for your readers up to one year after publication. (The link will be live after the article publishes and embargo is lifted.)

Please see the article for additional information, including full author list, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.

Need more information? Contact us.