Neuro - Reggio Flashcards
Peds neurology includes…
- Normal and abnormal development
- CNS insults (infection, trauma, ischemia)
- Abnormalities of muscles and nerves (SMA, dystrophies)
- Seizures and other spells
- Genetic Disorders
- And 100,000 obscure disorders
Peds neurology impact on miscarriages and/or live births
- Unknown percent (>50%) of miscarriages
- 40% of all infantile deaths
- 1-2% of all births
List the identified etiology of NDD (Neurodevelopmental Disorders)
- Chromosomal abnormalities & other DNA mutations
- Toxins/teratogens exposure
- CNS infections
- Metabolic disorders
- Vascular insults
- Trauma
Define homeobox genes
encode DNA binding proteins that control:
- Timely gene expression (transcription & translation to direct protein synthesis and then produce the structures of a cell)
- Morphogenesis (development and growth of the structure of an organism)
- Cell differentiation (identification of specialized function of that cell)
- And probably timed-apoptosis (cell turnover/natural regeneration)
Mutations in homeobox genes
lead to CNS malformations
Normal development during gestational week 3
Neural tube invaginates
Normal development during gestational week 4
- Anterior then posterior ends of NT close
- Brain & head = 50% total body length
- Rapid neuronal division into bipolar neuroblasts (up to 250,000 divisions/minute)
- Radial glia appear & migration begins
Define deformation
secondary damage to normally formed tissue
Define malformation
defect due to abnormal morphogenesis (i.e. in development)
Malformation
-dysplasia
abnormal cellular organization leading to structural or functional aberrations
- localized: e.g. hemangioma
- generalized: e.g. abnormal collagen
Malformation
-heterotopia
portion of an organ displaced to an abnormal site within the same organ
Malformation
-hamartoma
disorganized portion of an organ within its normal site, e.g. abnormal cortical lamination
What is the importance of timing of insult during development?
- An insult that occurs early in the nervous system development may lead to a variety of secondary defects
- The earlier the insult, the more severe the defect**
- -Primitive neural tube starts developing at 3 weeks gestation
- -CNS development continues into late childhood
Describe the anticipatory guidance
- An essential part of the health supervision visit is anticipatory guidance.
- This must be appropriate to age, focus on concerns expressed by the parent and patient, and address issues in depth – not just running through a checklist like ROS.
- Areas of concern include diet, injury prevention, developmental and behavioral issues, and health promotion.
List the common mental and behavioral topics on which the pediatrician must be comfortable counseling
discipline, temper tantrums, toilet training, biting, and sleep problems.
List the mental health issues pediatricians commonly address
ADHD, anxiety, depression, school problems, or family stressors (such as separation, divorce, or remarriage).
Which areas should have low threshold for referral?
The pediatrician should know the warning signs of childhood depression and bipolar disorder
What are the symptoms ascribed to the process of tooth eruption or teething?
- Fussiness
- Change in eating pattern
- Chewing on things
- Increased slobbering
Are fevers associated with teething?
medical books say any temporal association with fever, upper respiratory infection, or systemic illness is coincidental rather than related to the eruption process.
List the important parts of the physical exam for teething
-Vital signs, including temperature
-Assess anterior fontanelle, sutures, and head circumference for increased intracranial pressure, which may occur with meningitis or space-occupying lesion.
-Assess for signs of meningitis such as nuchal rigidity.
-Examine ears and throat for infection.
-Examine skin for rashes and other signs of infection.
-Examine heart and lungs for infection.
Assess for trauma/abuse.
OTC teething treatment
- Common therapies for teething pain include the application of over the counter teething gels or liquids.
- Being careful to use in excess with children < 2; can cause rare but serious methemaglobinemia.
- Systemic analgesics such asacetaminophenor ibuprofen are safer and more effective.
- Chewing on a teething object can be beneficial, if only for distraction purposes.
Tx for swelling of alveolar mucosa
- swelling of the alveolar mucosa overlying an erupting tooth can be seen as localized red to purple, round, raised, and smooth lesion
- treatment rarely needed as these eruption cysts/hematomas resolve with tooth eruption
What are the 2 age ranges for immunization schedules?
- 4 months to 18 yrs
- 18yrs and younger with medical conditions
Describe seizures
Seizures arise from abnormal electrical discharges in the cerebral cortex that lead to alterations of consciousness, behavior, motor activity, sensation, or autonomic function that are short in duration but tend to reoccur.
Define epilepsy
- 2 or more seizures without acute provocation (such as fever, trauma, chemical, drug (immunization) or strobe effect, etc.)
- Seizures are classified as partial(focal), generalized, and unknown.
Define partial (focal) seizures
Those in which, in general, the first clinical and electrographic changes indicate initial activation of a system of neurons limited to part of one hemisphere.
Define generalized seizures
Those in which the first clinical changes indicate initial involvement of both hemispheres.
Motor manifestations are bilateral
Classifications of partial (focal) seizures
- Simple-partial OR partial-partial (no change in awareness) often abnormal activity of a single limb; can occur at any age.
- Complex-partial (change in awareness, aura, and postictal state = lethargy, confusion, and/or focal deficit) may have complex sensory hallucinations and mental distortion.
List the motor dysfunctions of complex-partial seizures
- Motor dysfunction includes automatisms: chewing movements, blinking, nose wiping, picking at fingers or lip smacking.
- Presence of aura or focal postictal deficit imply a focal-onset (=partial) seizure.
Classifications of generalized seizures
- Generalized tonic-clonic (GTC = grand mal)
- Juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME)
- Absence (= petit mal) – childhood onset, automatisms – rapid blinking, but no postictal state sudden brief self limited altered awareness, rapid blinking, staring, amnesia for event
- Other – generalized tonic, generalized clonic, atonic
What is another name for generalized tonic-clonic (GTC) seizure?
Formerly known as GRAND MAL seizure
Define tonic phase of GTC
- stiff
- diffuse muscle contractions
- limbs stiffen, back arches, abdominal muscles contract, jaws clench
- results in tongue biting, urinary or fecal incontinence, abnormal cry or shout
Define clonic phase of GTC
- shaking/jerking
- shaking of 4 limbs
- injury to head & limbs can occur from striking hard surfaces
Etiology of juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME)
- MC “idiopathic primary generalized epilepsy”
- Starts in early adolescence, typically around age 15
- Myoclonic jerks, GTC, or absence seizures in morning
- Normal intelligence
- Seizures commonly triggered by sleep deprivation
- Family history of similar seizures
Dx of JME
Characteristic EEG: 4-6 Hz irregular polyspikes & waves
Tx of JME
REQUIRES: lifelong anti-epileptic drug use
Valproate (= valproic acid or divalproex) or lamotrigine
DO NOT use phenytoin or carbamazepine – they may exacerbate JME
Diagnosis of status epilepticus
Prolonged (> 30 mins) or recurrent GTC seizures without return to consciousness
List diff dx of status epilepticus
- Subtherapeutic antiepileptic drug level
- Abnormal chemistries
- Meningitis
- Drug Toxicity
- Alcohol Withdrawal
- Sepsis
- Mass (tumor, abscess, AVM, hemorrhage)
- Head trauma (Primary or Secondary - evaluate for subdural hematoma (secondary to head trauma during the seizure)
- Encephalitis
- Encephalopathy (hypoxic-ischemic, HIV, Alzheimer)
Tx of status epilepticus
- Protect head & extremities from trauma
- Do NOT place anything into pts mouth (increases risk of aspiration and tongues heal well)
- Correct underlying abnormalities (ie. Electrolyte abnormalities – Thiamine and Glucose)
- Monitor blood pressure & ECG continuous
Tx to abort a seizure in status epilepticus
- Lorazepam 0.1 mg/kg IV push @ < 2 mg/min (only if pt actively seizing) may repeat once
- If after 30 minutes seizure continues, patient should be intubated and then started on pentobarbital, midazolam, or propofol.
Tx to prevent seizures/management once status has been aborted in status epilepticus
- Phenytoin or
- Fosphenytoin 20 mg/kg IV @ < 150 mg/min (prevents - not stopping seizure)