Failure to thrive
As failure to thrive, a delay of physical development of a child is referred, which is often associated with abnormalities in motor and psycho- social development. This occurs in pediatric clinics with a frequency of 2-25 % in the developed world, and is usually an accompanying symptom of an underlying disease.
Diagnostics
Failure to thrive is not a diagnosis but only a description. Diagnostic criteria are:
- Below the 3 percentile for body weight and body length
- Decreased length of target weight
- Weight loss or lack of growth compared to preliminary investigation ( by more than 2 Hauptperzentilen )
Causes
As already mentioned, there are usually a secondary symptom of an underlying disease. Due to this there will be:
- Inadequate food intake
- Impaired intestinal absorption ( malabsorption )
Common underlying diseases that are associated with failure to thrive various intestinal diseases, food allergies, cystic fibrosis, celiac disease, eating disorders. Also psychiatric children and their parents ( Munchausen syndrome, neglect) diseases may not be disregarded.
Therapy
The focus is on the treatment of the underlying disease. In addition, you can work with:
- Increased food supply
- Food enrichment
- Drinking and tube feeding
- Parenteral Nutrition