ArticleFrontiers in pediatrics2026
Parental anxiety levels before and after pediatric cardiology evaluation with echocardiography in asymptomatic children with heart murmurs: a prospective study.
Article in Frontiers in pediatrics, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Cardiac murmurs are common in childhood, yet their detection often triggers significant parental anxiety. This study aimed to measure anxiety levels in parents of infants and young children under 24 months of age referred to pediatric cardiology due to heart murmurs, using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S) before and after examination, and to investigate the impact of expert assessment and echocardiography (ECHO). Methods: This prospective study included parents of 241 asymptomatic children (under 24 months) referred for initial cardiac evaluation due to a murmur. Parental anxiety was measured using the STAI-S before and after a comprehensive clinical evaluation, including ECHO. Participants were categorized based on ECHO findings: normal, benign physiological findings, and minor structural anomalies requiring follow-up. Results: The mean pre-consultation STAI-S was 51.17 ± 6.34, which significantly decreased to 45.89 ± 7.84 following evaluation [ Conclusions: Specialized pediatric cardiology consultation and echocardiographic evaluation substantially reduce parental anxiety, independent of socioeconomic characteristics or specific cardiac findings in this cohort. Clinicians should prioritize early, tailored communication for high-risk families with a family history of heart disease to effectively manage the psychological burden of a heart murmur referral.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.