Paediatrics Flashcards
Is paediatric assessment the same as adult assessment
NO - Children are not miniature adults - All body systems still in development throughout childhood. Skeletal system not fully developed until 25.
Paediatrics covers a wide range from:
Age: 0 – 19 years old
Who are involved in treatment in paediatrics
Children are not alone in treatment - Parents/family come too!
Aims of paediatric assessment are:
To provide a baseline picture of the child
To evaluate the child’s abilities and inabilities
To compare their function to their chronological age
To place the child’s abilities within the context of their environment
The neurological system in children is driven by:
Lower centres of the brain
Motor development mirrors:
Development of the higher centres of the brain and the increased synapsing within the motor cortex
Initially nervous system operates by:
reflex activity
Neurological conditions may be:
congenital (spina bifida), developmental (cerebral palsy) or acquired (non-accidental head injury or traumatic brain damage)
Distribution of tone will interrupt:
normal motor development - Increased or decreased tone interrupts the child’s motor development, but also affects MSK development
In subjective assessment who we talk to depends on:
age of the child:
• Infants & toddlers – Parents
• Young children (4-5) – start to involve them in the questions but still ask parents to ensure reliable, accurate answers
• 12/13 should be directing most of the questions to the teenager
In PC problem may be referred to as:
“ developmental delay” from paediatricians +/-Presenting MSK problem, Associated with Cardio respiratory problem
Often HPC shows:
Problems present since birth
Parents may be the only ones who have noticed a problem
In young children these may cause developmental delay
PMH will look at:
Other associated conditions
• Epilepsy?
• Hydrocephalus?
• Cardiorespiratory condition - CF, Asthma
Surgery
• Shunt
• Corrective surgery - CP
DH is often:
extensive
What special questions would you ask in a subjective paeds assessment?
- Birth History
- Motor History
- Social History
- Cognitive history
- Family history
- (Parent and child perception)
BH often includes:
Any problems with birthing process - including pre, peri and post-natal
History of a particularly traumatic birthing process, i.e. emergency C-section or prior problems leading to elective C-section
Very important for many paediatric neurological conditions:
○ Cerebral palsy - premature, other MSK and C/R co-morbidities
○ Developmental Coordination Disorder - premature, CP children
MH looks at:
• When did your child achieve: Head control - 3/12, Rolling - 4-6/12, Sitting - 6-9/12, Crawling - 9-12/12, Walking - 12-18/12
Influence of motor skills: Affects experience, Affects self-concept, Affects social interaction, Delay affects other development
Social & Cognitive History asks:
- How well does your child sleep?
- How well does your child eat, any problems swallowing or particular foods?
- How well is he/she getting on at school? Has he/she got lots of friends? Interaction with teachers? Do they keep eye contact? How is their hearing? When they speak to you how do they speak? What do friend’s parents say about your child?
Autistic children have difficulty with:
some textures of food in their mouth and swallowing issues.
Social interaction is important in:
development and development delay.
Children whose muscle tone is altered have difficulty:
Resisting gravity, which can affect sleep patterns. Altered tone may affect swallowing and also using cutlery.
children with developmental coordination disorder may also have:
AD/HD, which may affect their sleep pattern
Co-ordination will affect use of:
Cutlery
School issues are often linked to:
Difficulties with social skills, which can affect children with developmental coordination disorder, or those on the autistic spectrum.
With older children you need to get:
(Parent and child perception)
The parent’s version – preferably not in front of the child and the child’s version – again preferably without the adults present.
Sometimes parents & children have:
(parent and child perception)
a different perspective – especially teenagers – remember your duty of care is to the child