Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36264529›Full record

ArticleMedical & biological engineering & computing2022

Diagnosing growing pains in children by using machine learning: a cross-sectional multicenter study.

Fuat Akal, Ezgi D Batu, Hafize Emine Sonmez, Şerife G Karadağ, Ferhat Demir, Nuray Aktay Ayaz, Betül Sözeri

Abstract readMulticenter Study
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Medical & biological engineering & computing, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.8field-weighted citation impact, top 16% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 11 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Artificial intelligence in pediatric pain: a systematic review.BMC medical informatics and decision making · 2026
    Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
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  8. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.

Fuat Akal *Department of Computer Engineering, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey.
Ezgi D Batu *Department of Pediatrics, Division of Rheumatology, Ankara Training and Research Hospital, University of Health Sciences, Ankara, Turkey. ezgidenizbatu@yahoo.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1065-2363
Hafize Emine SonmezDepartment of Pediatrics, Division of Rheumatology, Kanuni Sultan Suleyman Training and Research Hospital, University of Health Sciences, Istanbul, Turkey.
Şerife G KaradağDepartment of Pediatrics, Division of Rheumatology, Kanuni Sultan Suleyman Training and Research Hospital, University of Health Sciences, Istanbul, Turkey.
Ferhat DemirDepartment of Pediatrics, Division of Rheumatology, Umraniye Training and Research Hospital, University of Health Sciences, Istanbul, Turkey.
Nuray Aktay AyazDepartment of Pediatrics, Division of Rheumatology, Kanuni Sultan Suleyman Training and Research Hospital, University of Health Sciences, Istanbul, Turkey.
Betül SözeriDepartment of Pediatrics, Division of Rheumatology, Umraniye Training and Research Hospital, University of Health Sciences, Istanbul, Turkey.
Sağlık Bilimleri Üniversitesi · TRÜmraniye Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi · TRHacettepe University · TRMinistry of Health · TR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Growing pains (GP) are the most common cause of recurrent musculoskeletal pain in children. There are no diagnostic criteria for GP. We aimed at analyzing GP-related characteristics and assisting GP diagnosis by using machine learning (ML). Children with GP and diseased controls were enrolled between February and August 2019. ML models were developed by using tenfold cross-validation to classify GP patients. A total of 398 patients with GP (F/M:1.3; median age 102 months) and 254 patients with other diseases causing limb pain were enrolled. The pain was bilateral (86.2%), localized in the lower extremities (89.7%), nocturnal (74%), and led to awakening at night (60.8%) in most GP patients. History of arthritis, trauma, morning stiffness, limping, limitation of activities, and school abstinence were more prevalent among controls than in GP patients (p = 0.016 for trauma; p < 0.001 for others). The experiments with different ML models revealed that the Random Forest algorithm had the best performance with 0.98 accuracy, 0.99 sensitivity, and 0.97 specificity for GP diagnosis. This is the largest cohort study of children with GP and the first study that attempts to diagnose GP by using ML techniques. Our ML model may be used to facilitate diagnosing GP.

Indexed as

Lower ExtremityPainChildCohort StudiesCross-Sectional StudiesHumansMachine LearningArtificial intelligenceDiagnosisGrowing painsMachine learning

Identifiers

PMID36264529
OpenAlexW4306912661

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.