Immunology, Development And Neurology Flashcards
What is the definition of ADHD ?
A condition incorporating features relating to inattention and/or hyperactivity/ impulsivity that are persistent.
What are the inattention features of ADHD ?
Does not follow through on instructions
Reluctant to engage in mentally-intense tasks
Easily distracted
Finds it difficult to sustain tasks
Forgetful
What are the hyperactive / impulse features of ADHD ?
Unable to play quietly
Talks excessively
Does not wait there turn
Interruptive and intrusive
What is the management of ADHD in children ?
- 10 week watch and wait period to see if symptoms change
- referral to secondary care
- first line medication is methylphenidate
- second line is lisdexamfetamine
What should be performed before starting ADHD medications ?
Baseline ECG as the medications are potentially cardio toxic.
What is ASD ?
Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition characterised by qualitative impairment in social interaction and communication as well as repetitive stereotyped behaviour, interests and activities.
What are some clinical features of ASD ?
- Playing alone and uninterested in being with other children
- stereotyped and repetitive motor mannerisms
- inflexible routine
- associated with intellectual impairment
What is the goal of the management of ASD ?
- Learning and development, improved social skills and improved communication
- decreased disability and comorbidity
- aid to families
What are some therapies for ASD ?
Applied behavioural analysis
ASD preschool program
Structured teaching method
Family support and counselling
What is the definition of cerebral palsy ?
It may be defined as a disorder of movement and posture due to a non-progressive lesion of the motor pathways in the developing brain.
What are the antenatal causes of cerebral palsy ?
Cerebral malformation
Congenital infection - rubella, toxoplasmosis, CMV
What are the intrapartum causes of cerebral palsy ?
Birth asphyxia
Trauma
What are the postpartum causes of cerebral palsy ?
Intraventricular haemorrhage
Meningitis
Head trauma
What are some possible manifestations of cerebral palsy ?
Abnormal tone early infancy
Delayed motor milestones
Abnormal gait
Feeding difficulties
What is the most common classification of cerebral palsy ?
Spastic - increased tone resulting from damage to upper motor neurones
What is monoplegia ?
One leg affected
What is the hemiplegic ?
One side of the body is affected
what is diplegia ?
Four limbs are affected but mostly the legs
what is quadriplegia ?
Four limbs are affected more severely
Often with seizures, speech disturbance and other impairments
What are the signs and symptoms of cerebral palsy ?
Failure to meet milestones
Increased and decreased tone
Hand preferences below 18 months
Problems with coordination, speech or walking
Learning difficulties
Where is the lesion if someone has a hemiplegic gait ?
Upper motor neurone lesion
Where is the lesion if someone has an ataxic gait ?
Cerebellar lesion
Where is the lesion if someone has a high stepping gait ?
Foot drop
Lower motor neurone lesion
Where is the lesion if someone has a waddling gait ?
Pelvic muscle weakness due to myopathy
What is the gait exhibited in cerebral palsy ?
Hemiplegic or diplegic
What are signs of a upper motor neurone lesion ?
Muscle bulk preserved
Hypertonia
Power slightly reduced
Brisk reflexes
What are some complications and associated conditions of cerebral palsy ?
Learning disability
Epilepsy
Kyphoscoliosis
Muscle contractures
Hearing and visual impairment
GORD
What is the management of cerebral palsy ?
Life long conditions
Physiotherapy - stretch and strengthen muscles, maximise function and prevent muscle contractures
Occupational therapy - manage everyday activities
Speech and language therapy - speech and swallowing
What is the recommended length of time for breast feeding ?
WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of life
What are the issues with breastfeeding ?
Poor milk supply
Difficulty latching
Discomfort or pain
Can all lead to inadequate nutrition for the baby
What are some benefits of breastfeeding ?
Contains antibodies that can help protect the neonate against infection
Lower infections in the neonate period
Better cognitive development
Reduced risk of sudden infant death syndrome
What can breastfeeding reduce the risk of in mothers ?
Breast cancer
Ovarian cancer
How much milk should a baby receive perKg of body weight ?
150ml
When is it acceptable for babies to lose up to 10% of their body weight ?
Up to day 5 but should return to birth weight by day 10
What are the most common causes of excessive weight loss in babies ?
Dehydration due to underfeeding
What is weaning ?
The gradual transition from milk to normal food.
When does weaning start ?
Around 6 months of age
What is a growth chart ?
Used to plot a child’s weight, height and head circumference against the normal distribution for their age and gender.
What are the phases of growth ?
First 2 years - rapid growth driven by nutritional factors
From year 2 to puberty - steady slow growth
During Puberty - rapid growth spurt driven by sex hormones
What is overweight and obese defined as in percentile in children
85th - overweight
95th - obese
What is the biggest immediate effect of obesity in children ?
Bullying
What are obese children at a higher risk of developing ?
Impaired glucose tolerance
T2 diabetes
CVD
Arthritis
Certain types of cancer
What is failure to thrive ?
Poor physical growth and developmental in a child
What is failure to thrive ?
Refers to poor physical growth and development in a child
What are some broad causes of failure to thrive ?
Inadequate nutritional intake
Difficulty feeding
Malabsorption
Increased energy requirements
Inability to process nutrition
What can cause inadequate nutritional intake causing failure to thrive ?
Maternal malabsorption if breastfeeding
Iron deficiency anaemia
Family or parental problems
Neglect
Availability of food
What can cause difficulty feeding causing failure to thrive ?
Poor suck - cerebral palsy
Cleft lip or palate
Pyloric stenosis
What can cause malabsorption causing failure to thrive ?
Cystic fibrosis
Coeliac disease
Cow’s milk intolerance
Chronic diarrhoea
IBD
What can cause increased energy requirements causing failure to thrive ?
Hyperthyroidism
Chronic disease - congenital heart disease and cystic fibrosis
Malignancy
Chronic infections - HIV or immunodeficiency
What can cause inability to process nutrients properly causing failure to thrive ?
Inborn errors of metabolism
T1 diabetes
What are the key areas to assess in a child failing to thrive ?
Pregnancy, birth, developmental and social history
Feeding or eating history
Observe feeding
Mums physical and mental health
Parent-child interactions
Height, weight and BMI and plotting these on a growth chart
Calculate mid-parental height centile
What are some investigations that should be performed if a child is failing to thrive ?
Urine dipstick - UTI
Coeliac screen
What is the management for a child failing to thrive ?
If breastfeeding is the cause - support for mothers can be given as well as supplemental milk
Encourage regular structured mealtimes and snacks
Reduce milk consumption to improve appetite for other foods
Review by a dietician
Energy dense foods
What is a short stature ?
As a height more than 2 standard deviations below the average for their age and sex
What are some causes of short stature ?
Familial short stature
Constitutional delay in growth and development
Malnutrition
Chronic diseases - coeliac, IBD,
Endocrine disorders - hypothyroidism
Genetic conditions - Down syndrome
Skeletal dysplasia’s - achondroplasia
What is constitutional delay in growth and puberty ?
It is considered a variation on normal development.
It leads to a short stature in childhood when compared with peers but normal height in adulthood.
Puberty is delayed and their growth spurt lasts longer
What are some milestones of gross motor function ?
4 months - support their own head
9 months - sit unsupported, crawling
12 months - stand
15 months - walk unaided
2 years - run and kick a ball
What are some milestones of fine motor function ?
6 months - palmar grasp
9 months - scissor grasp of objects
12 months - pincer grasp
What are some milestones of expressive language ?
3 months - cooing noise
9 months - talking but not recognisable
12 months - dada
18 months - 5 to 10 words
3 years - using basic sentences
What are some milestones of receptive language ?
3 months - recognises parents and familiar voices
6 months - responds to tone of voice
9 months - listens to speech
18 months - understands nouns
2 years - understands verbs
3 years - understands adjectives
What are some milestones for personal and social skills ?
6 weeks - smile
3 months - communicates pleasure
12 months - engages with others by pointing and handing objects
2 years -waving at strangers
3 years - play with other children , bowel control
What are some red flags in terms of developmental milestones ?
Not able to hold an object at 5 months
Not sitting unsupported at 12 months
Not standing independently at 18 months
Not walking independently at 2 years
No words at 18 months
No interest in others at 18 months
What is global developmental delay ?
It refers to a child displaying slow development in all developmental domains. This could indicate an underlying diagnosis such as :
- Down’s syndrome
- fragile X syndrome
- foetal alcohol syndrome
What are some potential causes of gross motor delay ?
Cerebral palsy
Ataxia
Myopathy
Spina bifida
Visual impairment
What are some potential causes of fine motor delay ?
Dyspraxia
Cerebral palsy
Muscular dystrophy
Visual impairment
What are some potential causes of language delay ?
Hearing impairment
Learning disability
Neglect
Autism
Cerebral palsy
What are some potential causes of personal and social delay ?
Emotional and social neglect
Parenting issues
Autism
What is dyslexia ?
A difficulty in reading, writing and spelling
What is dysgraphia ?
A specific difficulty in writing
What is dyspraxia ?
Also known as developmental co-ordination disorder.
Refers to a specific type of difficulty in physical co-ordination.
It presents with delayed gross and fine motor skills and a child that appears clumsy.
What is the severity of learning disabilities based on and what are the classes ?
IQ
55-70 = mild
40-55 = moderate
25-40 = severe
Under 25 = profound
What are the causes of learning difficulties ?
No clear cause
Family history, abuse, neglect and psychological trauma increases the risk
What conditions are associated with learning difficulties ?
Genetic disorders such as Down’s syndrome
Antenatal problems - foetal alcohol syndrome and maternal chicken pox
Problems in early childhood - meningitis
Autism
Epilepsy
What must a patient have to demonstrate capacity ?
Understand the decision
Retain the information
Weigh up the options and the implications of choosing each option
Communicate their decision
When does puberty normally take place in boys and girls ?
8-14 in girls
9-15 in boys
What are the stages of puberty in girls ?
Development of breast buds
Then pubic hair
Lastly menstrual periods
What are the stages of puberty in boys ?
Starts with enlargement of testicles
Then penis
Gradual darkening of the scrotum
Development of pubic hair and deepening of the voice
What is hypogonadotropic hypogonadism ?
There is a deficiency of LH and FSH leading to a deficiency of the sex hormones testosterone and oestrogen. This is usually due to an abnormal functioning of the hypothalamus or pituitary gland.
What causes hypogonadotropic hypogonadism ?
Previous damage to the hypothalamus or pituitary - radiotherapy or surgery
Growth hormone deficiency
Hypothyroidism
Hyperprolactinaemia
Excessive exercise or dieting
Kallman syndrome
What is hypergonadotropic hypogonadism ?
This is where the gonads fail to respond to stimulation from the gonadotropins ( LH and FSH ).
There is no negative feedback from the sex hormones causing high levels of LH and FSH.
What is Kallman syndrome ?
A genetic condition causing hypogonadotropic hypogonadism resulting in failure to start puberty. It is associated with a reduced or absent sense of smell ( anosmia ).
What are the types of abuse ?
Physical
Emotional
Sexual
Neglect
Financial
Identity
What are some risk factors for abuse ?
Domestic violence
Previously abused parent
Mental health problems
Emotional volatility in the household
Disability in the child
Alcohol misuse
Substance misuse
What are some possible signs of abuse ?
Change in behaviour or extreme emotional states
Dissociative disorders ( feeling separated from their thoughts or identity )
Bullying, self harm or suicidal behaviours
Unusually sexualised behaviours
Unusual behaviour during examination
Poor hygiene
What must a child under 16 have to make a decision about their treatment ?
Gillick competence
What is Gillick competence ?
Refers to a judgement about whether the understanding and intelligence of the child is sufficient to consent to treatment.
Needs to be assessed on a decision by decision basis.