Table 1.
Characteristics at return visit (outpatient vs. inpatient)
| Outpatients (n = 992) | Inpatients (n = 320) | Statistics | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean | SD | Range | n(%) | Mean | SD | Range | n(%) | Parameter ( t, Chi 2) | p-value | Effect size § | |
| Days until return visit | 97.0 | 38.1 | 12–344 | 992 | 128.6 | 47.4 | 29–313 | 320 | t (1310) = 12.117 | <.001 | d = 0.83 |
| Age | 11.0 | 3.3 | 1–19 | 992 | 13.9 | 2.5 | 5–19 | 320 | t (1310) = 14.234 | <.001 | d = 0.88 |
| Sex | Chi 2 (1) = 14.125 | <.001 | V = .104 | ||||||||
| Male | 421 (42) | 98 (31) | |||||||||
| Female | 571 (58) | 222 (69) | |||||||||
| Main pain location | Chi 2 (3) = 128.2 | <.001 | V = .313 | ||||||||
| Head | 813 (82) | 168 (53) | |||||||||
| Abdomen | 110 (11) | 68 (21) | |||||||||
| Musculoskeletal | 63 (6) | 71 (22) | |||||||||
| Other | 4 (0.4) | 12 (4) | |||||||||
| Average pain intensity$ | 4.2 | 2.7 | 0–10 | 942 | 4.3 | 2.9 | 0–10 | 314 | t(1254) = 0.546 | .585 | - |
| Pain-related disability# | 24.8 | 10.7 | 12–60 | 894 | 23.9 | 10.0 | 12–60 | 298 | t(1190) = -1.244 | .214 | - |
| School absence& | 0–20 | U = 184,632; Z = 12.2 | <.001 | r = .357 | |||||||
| Low (0–1 day) | 738 (84) | 233 (78) | |||||||||
| Moderate (2–5 days) | 117 (13) | 40 (13) | |||||||||
| High (>5 days) | 22 (3) | 27 (9) | |||||||||
§Effect sizes for t-tests = d; for U-Tests = r; and for Chi 2-test = Cramer’s V.
$Numeric rating scale (NRS) 0–10: 0 = no pain, 10 = worst pain.
#Paediatric Pain Disability Index (P-PDI [15], range 12–60).
&There were n = 66 children aged younger than six years for whom school absence could not be assessed.
Boldface data reflect significant differences between the two groups.