Failure to thrive

Classification according to ICD-10
R62.8	Failure to thrive (other lack of expected physiological development)
ICD-10 online (WHO version 2019)

As failure to thrive a delay of physical development is called a child, often with abnormalities in the motor is connected and psycho-social development. This occurs in pediatric clinics with a frequency of 2–25% and in the developed world is usually an accompanying symptom of an underlying disease.

Diagnosis

Failure to thrive is not a diagnosis, just a description. Diagnostic criteria are:

• Falling below the third percentile for body weight and body length
• reduced nominal length weight
• Weight loss or lack of gain compared to the previous examination (by more than 2 main percentiles)

causes

As already mentioned, it is usually an accompanying symptom of an underlying disease. Through this it comes to:

• insufficient food intake
• disturbed intestinal absorption ( malabsorption )

Common underlying diseases associated with failure to thrive are various diseases of the gastrointestinal tract , food allergies , cystic fibrosis , celiac disease , and eating disorders . Psychiatric illnesses in children and their parents ( Münchhausen syndrome , neglect ) must not be ignored either, as they can lead to psychosocial short stature .

therapy

The focus is on the therapy of the underlying disease. You can also work with:

• increased food intake
• Nutritional fortification
• Sip and tube feeding
• Parenteral nutrition

Web links

• Failure to thrive - Exact symptoms
• Nützenadel, Walter: Failure to thrive in childhood . In: Dtsch Arztebl Int . No. 108 (38) , 2011, pp. 642-9 ( review article ).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Utility needle: Failure to thrive in childhood. In: Deutsches Ärzteblatt, vol. 108, issue 38, Sept. 2011
2. ↑ Guideline of the Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition (GPGE) on failure to thrive AWMF , register number 068-002, accessed on November 8, 2018
3. ↑ Utility needle: Failure to thrive in childhood. In: Deutsches Ärzteblatt, vol. 108, issue 38, Sept. 2011
4. ↑ Utility needle: Failure to thrive in childhood. In: Deutsches Ärzteblatt, vol. 108, issue 38, Sept. 2011

This article is about a health issue. It is not used for self-diagnosis and does not replace a diagnosis by a doctor. Please note the information on health issues !