APPROACH OF FAILURE TO THRIVE
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25753/BirthGrowthMJ.v22.i3.10647Keywords:
Failure to thrive, nutritional assessment, diagnosis, treatmentAbstract
Introduction: Failure to thrive is one of the most frequent consultation referrals in Pediatrics. Both the dificulties in its definition and the different approaches lead to a lack of consensual management. The fact that, in about 70% of the cases, the causes of failure to thrive are non organic, complicates this issue.
Objective: With this review the authors aim to propose a diagnostic and management strategy to evaluate and monitor these patients.
Methods: Review of relevant articles published on the designation of “failure to thrive” or “fallo of medro” using the databases PubMed and Cochrane.
Development: The most frequent cause of failure to thrive is related to an inadequate energy intake conditioned by psychosocial or behavioral problems. In fact only 5% of the causes of poor weight gain can be attributed to organic disease, which makes a systematic approach of these children even more dificult. The random use of laboratory tests contributes very little to the underlying diagnosis and is not recommended. A multidisciplinary approach of these children and their families, ideally with home monitoring, associated with an optimization of food intake is effective in weight gain and in a better interaction between the children and the caregivers.
Conclusions: Early recognition of this situation, associated with a multidisciplinary approach, optimized the energy intake, minimizes the long-term consequences.
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