Excessive crying of infancy; a report of 200 cases

ABSTRACT

Excessive crying of infancy; a single continuous episode of crying more than 2 common and often serious problem for parents. The objective of this study was to determine the incidence and etiology of acute episodes of excessive infant crying and to propose an approach for taking care of them. In this cross sectional study all patients less than 2 years old presented to the Emergency Department [ED] with >/= 2 hours of crying with an unapparent cause for their parents were included in this study. Patients with fever, chronic disease and any disease 72 hours proceeding the crying were excluded. The incidence of excessive crying was 200 [1.74%] among the 13600 ED visits in 2 consecutive years .The three most common causes were colic [29.5%], acute otitis media [15.5%] and constipation [5.5%]. History and physical examination led to diagnosis in 86% of cases. Many conditions and diseases may cause excessive crying in infants. Complete history and physical examination of all parts of the body provide clues for the diagnosis in most cases and help the physician to avoid over diagnosis and over treatment