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FAILURE TO THRIVE

V Venkateshwar1, T S Raghu Raman2

  • 1Graded Specialist (Paediatrics), 7 Air Force Hospital, Kanpur 208 004.

Medical Journal, Armed Forces India
|August 10, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Failure to thrive in children is defined as significantly low weight or weight gain. Management requires a multidisciplinary approach addressing nutritional, medical, and psychosocial factors for optimal outcomes.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Child Health
  • Growth and Development

Background:

  • Failure to thrive (FTT) is a common pediatric concern, referring to children with attained weight or rate of weight gain significantly below peers.
  • Defining criteria help distinguish true FTT from apparent growth failure, with both organic and non-organic (social, psychological, environmental) causes.
  • Clinical features include malnutrition, signs of organic disease, and indicators of psychosocial deprivation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To provide a comprehensive overview of failure to thrive in pediatric practice.
  • To differentiate true failure to thrive from other growth issues.
  • To outline diagnostic and management strategies for FTT.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review on failure to thrive in pediatric populations.
  • Analysis of diagnostic criteria and clinical features.
  • Evaluation of management approaches, including multidisciplinary care and hospitalization.

Main Results:

  • FTT encompasses both organic and non-organic etiologies, necessitating a broad diagnostic perspective.
  • Indiscriminate laboratory investigations are generally not useful for FTT evaluation.
  • Management emphasizes nutritional rehabilitation alongside addressing underlying medical, psychological, social, and environmental factors.

Conclusions:

  • Effective management of FTT requires a multidisciplinary approach, with hospitalization playing a specific role.
  • Addressing the root causes, whether organic or non-organic, is crucial for successful treatment.
  • Long-term physical, developmental, and behavioral sequelae can occur in children with FTT, highlighting the importance of timely intervention.

Keywords:
Failure to thriveGrowth failureNon-organic failure to thriveNutritional rehabilitation

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