Children with Neurological Impairment (NI) such as Cerebral Palsy (CP) may meet the definition for Failure to Thrive (FTT), but are they truly failing to thrive? Children with CP grow more slowly than their able bodied counterparts but may still be considered well nourished. When should they be considered FTT and referred for further evaluation?
25(1) Part 2 – Failure to Thrive: the child with neurological impairment
24(6) Part 1 – Failure to Thrive
Today’s practitioner faces many challenges when presented with a child who fails to grow at expected rates or is diagnosed as failure-to thrive (FTT). Although it has a documented place in pediatric literature, there is no clear consensus regarding an objective definition for FTT. For each health care provider the term FTT can imply very different conditions depending on the circumstances. A team approach, including the family, can provide optimal care for a child who is failing to grow appropriately. While the definition to diagnose FTT may be elusive guidelines are available for identification and treatment. This edition of Nutrition Focus will provide a discussion of identification and intervention for children failing to grow following expected patterns.
23(6) Nutrition Management of Children with Rett Syndrome: An update
With the identification of the “Rett gene” in 1999, much has been learned in the last decade about the etiology and diagnosis of Rett Syndrome (RTT). RTT, first described in 1966 by Andreas Rett, is now considered a neurodevelopmental disorder, rather than a degenerative disorder. It is the result of a spontaneous genetic mutation which has a prevalence of 1:10,000 to 1:20,000 in females. RTT is an X linked dominant disorder, found predominantly in females, and occurs equally in all ethnic groups.