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Failure to thrive in infants and young children
The Journal of Family Practice
|July 1, 1977
Summary
Failure to thrive, a growth disorder in children, is often diagnosed through medical history, physical exams, and lab tests. Identifying prenatal, genetic, familial, and environmental factors is key to management.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Child Health
- Growth Disorders
Background:
- Failure to thrive (FTT) is a significant clinical syndrome in infancy and early childhood.
- It is characterized by growth failure without an obvious underlying medical cause.
- FTT impacts child development and requires timely diagnosis and intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To outline the diagnostic approach to failure to thrive.
- To identify the key factors contributing to FTT.
- To emphasize the role of the family physician in managing FTT.
Main Methods:
- Comprehensive patient history taking.
- Thorough physical examinations.
- Targeted laboratory and radiographic investigations.
Main Results:
- Most cases of FTT are diagnosed through careful clinical evaluation and standard diagnostic studies.
- Prenatal, genetic, familial, constitutional, and environmental factors are frequently implicated.
- Hospitalization can be effective for both diagnosis and initial treatment.
Conclusions:
- The etiology of failure to thrive can be identified in most cases through a systematic approach.
- Multifactorial causes, including environmental and genetic influences, are common.
- Family physicians are well-positioned to manage pediatric patients with failure to thrive.