Pediatric clinics of North America
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Pediatr. Clin. North Am. · Dec 2009
Review Historical ArticleHistory, law, and policy as a foundation for health care delivery for Australian indigenous children.
This article identifies significant historical and contemporary issues, programs, and progress to better understand the current policy in Australia relating to Aboriginal child health and well-being. A legislative perspective gives context to contemporary issues based on legally sanctioned historical practices specifically designed to make Aboriginal peoples disappear, particularly through the control and assimilation of Indigenous children.
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Pediatr. Clin. North Am. · Dec 2009
ReviewClinical management of type 2 diabetes in indigenous youth.
Youth-onset type 2 diabetes is a serious public health problem for Indigenous people throughout the world. This article reviews the epidemiology, disease burden, treatment, and challenges in achieving successful clinical management of this disorder in Indigenous youth. Screening criteria and the complications and comorbidities of type 2 diabetes are also reviewed.
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A significant proportion of critically ill children admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) present with nutritional deficiencies. Malnourished hospitalized patients have a higher rate of complications, increased mortality, longer length of hospital stay, and increased hospital costs. ⋯ Younger age, longer duration of PICU stay, congenital heart disease, burn injury, and need for mechanical ventilation support are some of the factors that are associated with worse nutritional deficiencies. Failure to estimate energy requirements accurately, barriers to bedside delivery of nutrients, and reluctance to perform regular nutritional assessments are responsible for the persistence and delayed detection of malnutrition in this cohort.
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Refeeding syndrome (RFS) is the result of aggressive enteral or parenteral feeding in a malnourished patient, with hypophosphatemia being the hallmark of this phenomenon. Other metabolic abnormalities, such as hypokalemia and hypomagnesemia, may also occur, along with sodium and fluid retention. ⋯ This article reviews the pathophysiology, the clinical manifestations, and the management of RFS. The key to prevention is identifying patients at risk and being aware of the potential complications involved in rapidly reintroducing feeds to a malnourished patient.
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Nutritional deficiencies have always been a major consideration in pediatrics. Although the classic forms of many of the well-documented nutritional deficiencies are memorized during training as a physician, nutritional deficiencies that can occur in otherwise asymptomatic normally growing children are often overlooked. ⋯ These deficiencies are surprisingly common and can have a significant impact on the overall health of a child. This article reviews these nutritional deficiencies and other less commonly seen deficiencies in children who are otherwise growing normally.