Clinical Pediatrics: Open Access
Open Access
ISSN: 2572-0775
ISSN: 2572-0775
Palaniappan Senthamilarasu
Ahmadi Hospital, Kuwait
Posters & Accepted Abstracts: Clin Pediatr
Introduction: Growth monitoring is a screening tool to diagnose nutritional and systemic diseases at an early stage. In countries where child surveillance clinic are not well established, children attending hospital for reasons other than growth concerns provide ideal setting for growth measurements. Aim: The aim of this study was to analyze if growth measurements performed routinely in children admitted to the pediatric ward. This data are used to identify children with growth deviation for further management. Methodology: A retrospective analysis of the medical records of 100 children ΓΆΒ?Β¤ 10 years of age admitted to acute pediatric ward at the Ahmadi hospital during October and November 2015. In our study we identified children with growth deviation using WHO growth chart and checked if these children were identified during the admission and referred for further management. Results: The weight was measured for all 100 children. The length/height for 70 children. BMI was not plotted for any child. Twenty out of seventy children had growth deviation (Overweight/Obese 15, Underweight 2, and Stunted 3. Only 3 (two obese and one underweight) out of 20 children with growth deviation were referred for further evaluation. Three children with stunted growth were not evaluated further. Conclusion: Though a significant number of children had growth deviation, especially overweight/obesity, there was no action taken for the majority. Early intervention against growth disorders can be very effective in prevention of their undesired future impact. We strongly recommend all pediatricians to be enough attentive.