7 - Paediatrics Flashcards
How do you do a quick assessment of a child?
Airway: secretions, stridor, foreign body, check gag reflex to see if unprotected airway and jaw thrust if no gag
Breathing: resp rate, recession/accessory muscle use, oxygen sats if below 90 worry, auscultation
Circulation: colour, heart rate, cap refill, temp of hands and feet, bp
Disability: pupils, limb tone and movement, AVPU
Must do ENT for any child with fever
What else should you check when doing an abdominal exam on a child with abdominal pain apart from a normal abdominal exam?
- Testicles for torsion
- Groin for hernia
Newborn babies can get some of the following skin problems, how will a baby present with the following:
- Jaundice
- Mongolian spots
- Erythema Toxicum
- Milia
- Newborn dry skin
- Acne
- Cradle cap
- Heat rash
- Yellow skin and eyes
- Blue bruise from pinprick to up to 6 inches, often on back, sacrum or legs. Document early, birthmark but will fade at about 2 years
- Occurs in most babies 2-5 days old. Red spots with overlying papules or pustules. Resolves in 1-2 weeks
- White dots on babies nose, forehead, chin etc. Leave alone
- Dry skin that can be left alone
- 2-3 weeks after birth like adult acne because of mother’s hormones. Same as erythema toxicum
- Seborrheic dermatitis. Dandruff which will clear itself in a few weeks, may want to losen scales with baby shampoo or oil. If persists may give antifungal shampoo or hydrocortisone cream
- Occurs mainly in nappy and neck area
Women that are breastfeeding often present with the following complaints, what advice can you give them?
- Thrush
- Blocked milk duct
- Tongue tie
- Put on antifungal cream after feeding and possible 2-3days PO antifungals
- If engorgement continues this may occur and a small hard lump may form. Feed from this breast and face baby’s chin towards the hard lump. If left can lead to masititis and then a possible breast abscess which will need drainage
- May cause sore cracked nipples or baby may not be latching on properly and therefore not gaining weight. Can have tongue-tie division
Women that are breastfeeding often present with the following complaints, what advice can you give them?
- Sore nipples
- Not enough breast milk
- Breast engorgement
- Baby not latching on properly
- Baby not well positioned and latched, get advice from midwife
- Offer baby both breasts at each feed and alternate which breast you start with. Keep them skin to skin
- Wear a well fitting bra, possibly express milk, learn babies feeding habits
- Make sure babies face is facing the nipple so doesn’t have to turn head. Check they have rounded cheeks and not coming off and on
If a parent presents with a child with an itching head due to headlice what advice can you give them?
- Reassure it doesn’t mean they are dirty
- Check everyone in the house and start treatment on the same day for everyone
- Do wet combing on days 1, 5, 9 and 13 to catch any newly hatched head lice. Check again that everyone’s hair is free of lice on day 17. Lots of conditioner.
- Dimeticone 4% gel, lotion, or spray (Hedrin) Only treat if live lice found. Treat from root to tip of hair. Suffocates lice so not likely to form resistance. Safe for pregnant women
- No need to keep child off of school or put clothes on a hot wash or use tea tree oil
How does colic present in a child and what advice can you give to the parents?
Baby cries a lot for no obvious cause. If they cry more than 3 hours a day, 3 days a week for at least 1 week. Often will be very windy too and draw knees up to abdomen or arch back when crying
- Reassure parents they will grow out of it about 6 months
- Ask for support from friends, family or Cry-sis
- Check not crying for other reasons like a milk allergy
What advice would you give to a mother asking about weaning her baby?
- Start around 6 months alongside their milk
- Give mashed fruit or vegetables once a day or baby rice with their milk
- Introduce foods that are associated with allergies one at a time in little amounts so can pin point any reactions
- Offer child free flow cup with water in at meal times
- Baby will turn head away or close mouth if full
A 5 year old boy presents with a rash on his trunk, what are the differential diagnoses?
- Scarlet fever may have strawberry tongue. S.Pyogenes
- Slapped cheek syndrome is erythema infectiosum. Parvovirus
- Roseola has prefever. HHV-6
- Varicella can be on scalp. Pustules then scabs. Starry sky
How would eczema in a child present and how would you treat it?
- Flexural dermatitis (red, itchy dry) in skin creases like elbows and back of knees
- History of atopy
- Flare ups causd by allergens, stress, diet etc
- In Asian and African children can affect extensor surfaces
- Use steroids for flares but not potent ones on neck and face
How would you rule out scabies and urticaria when considering a diagnosis of eczema?
What is functional conspitation in children?
- Chronic constipation not due to a secondary cause
- Often psychosomatic: witholding stool (e.g due to being in unfamiliar place), emotional, or diet
- Need to have straining, hard stools, pellet stools, manual evacuation etc for 3 months for a diagnosis
What are some congenital and physical causes of constipation in children?
- Hirschsprung’s Disease: presents early in life with failure to thrive, no meconium in first 24 hours, swollen abdomen, constipation doesn’t respond to treatment
- CF
- Hypothyroidism
- Anorectal malformation: faeces coming out of urethra
- Colonic atresia: often billous vomiting
How do we treat functional constipation in children?
- Laxatives (stimulants like docusate sodium or osmotics like lactulose and laxido) until a few weeks after it has resolved
- Increase fibre in diet e.g porridge, whole grain bread, food
- Avoid dairy, apples and bananas due to pectin content
- Encourage lots of fluids
- Praise child for going to the toilet, give them plenty of time, do not punish accidents
How may a viral wheeze present in a child and how can we treat it?
- Child may have SOB, recession and an expiratory wheeze
- Wheeze can continue for some time after virus and reoccurs with viruses
- Most common between 12 months to 5 years
Treatment: same as acute asthma with reliever inhaler and spacer
If a child is wheezy before 12 months or after 5 years, what is the likely diagnosis?
NOT VIRAL WHEEZE
<12 months think bronchiolitis
>5 years think asthma
How can a wheezing child due to a viral wheeze be distinguished from asthma, a respiratory infection and an inhaled foreign body?
Asthma: history of atopy, no history of viral infection, often after 3 years, has triggers like allergens and the cold
Resp Infection: will usually have a fever and a cough, more sudden onset, coryzal symptoms
Inhaled foreign body: sudden onset, initial coughing/choking, stridor, no coryzal symptoms, reduced chest wall movement on affected side, decreased/abnormal breath sounds
How does Osgood-Schlatter’s disease present in children?
- Small avulsion fractures of the patella tendon on the tibial tuberosity during forceful contractions of the quads. Happens before tibial tuberosity has undergone ossification
- Ossicles or enlarged tubercle may form so pain and swelling/lump occurs below kneecap which is worse on activity like running and jumping
- Develops slowly and severe exacerbations
- Usually unilateral
- More common in boys and with skeletal maturity it will disappear. Exacerbation usually settles after a few weeks to months
How is Osgood-Schlatters diagnosed?
- Exclude alternative causes of knee pain
- Do not X-ray as will not show anything except a possible ossicle when the epiphysis has ossified
What is the treatment for Osgood Schlatters?
- Analgesia
- Ice packs 10-15mins TDS
- Knee pads
- Reassure parent symptoms will settle but may persist until growth spurt
- Reassure sporting activity can still continue or can modify activity to level of pain
- Muscle stretching before and after exercise
- Reassess if persisting or getting worse
How can you distinguish Osgood Schlatter’s from the following:
- Injury
- Perthes
- SUFE
Injury: pain suddenly starts after trauma not gradual. Often abdnormal exam such as ligament injuries
Perthes: Femur head loses blood supply so AVN and head collapses. Pain in hip/groin or referred to knee/thigh. Painful muscle spasms and limited abduction/internal rotation. X-ray to diagnose
SUFE: head of femur slips off backwards, more common in boys aged 11-17. Pain in knee, limp, leg appears shorter or turned outwards, limited movement, possible Trendelenberg gait
How does hayfever present in children and how can it be treated?
- Seasonsal allergic rhinitis that happens at the same time every year due to grass and tree pollen
- Allergen avoidance
- Nasal irrigation with saline
- Oral non-sedating antihistamine
- Nasal antihistamine, steroid, decongestant, chromones
How can you distinguish hayfever from an infection and allergic rhinitis?
Infection: high temperature, green/yellow mucus from the nose, may occur after cold/flu
Allergic rhinitis: symptoms the same but not seasonal, triggered by any allergen not just pollen